A Pitiful Prince
by Suihanki
Summary: Shirayuki's recent abduction has Prince Raj Shenazard in shambles. The prince of Tanbarun's newly found humanity is slowly pulling him apart piece by piece, and he can't seem to stop it on his own. Sakaki will do anything to get the prince put back together again. WARNING: contains nonsexual spanking between two males.
1. Chapter One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hi everyone! I realize it's been quite a while since I've uploaded anything... I'm sorry about that. My health was very, very poor for the past year or so, and I've just now begun recovering. I've been dying to write, but I'm struggling with Empty Shell Chapter Eight, so I've decided to take a break by writing this new story. I'm hoping that taking this break will help the writer's block.

Lately, we've been watching an anime called Snow White with the Red Hair; Akagami No Shirayukihime in Japanese. I'm really beginning to enjoy this one! I've especially started liking the character Prince Raj of Tanbarun... and I'd expected to hate him. The more I watched, the more ideas I got, and I just had to write this fic. It's not the best thing I've ever written by any means, but I really, _really_ enjoyed writing this one, and I hope you enjoy reading it even half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

* * *

"Your highness?" Sakaki called out, knocking firmly on the prince's bedroom door. The younger man had disappeared not long ago, and it hadn't taken him long to figure out where he'd gone. It was going to take at least two hours for them to gather the horses and the supplies for the party they were building, hoping to find the men that had kidnapped Shirayuki. As soon as Raj had heard that it would take some time, he'd gone and hidden away. "Highness?" he called out a second time.

There was a long pause, followed by a quiet, "go away."

Sakaki sighed, gripping the handle and slowly pushing the door open. He stepped inside, staring at the Raj shaped lump under the covers on the bed for a moment before shutting the door. "Prince Raj, why are you hiding in here?"

"I'm not hiding!" the lump denied, letting out a dramatic huff and wrapping the covers around himself tighter. "Why can you never just do as I ask?" he asked, voice laced with a bit of anger and annoyance, but mostly just sounding tired.

The advisor frowned at the tone in his voice, going over to the bed and sitting on the edge. "It's understandable to be upset about Shirayuki's kidnapping, Prince Raj, it-"

"I'm not upset, I'm angry!" he snapped, trying to disappear further under the blankets.

Sakaki nodded softly, "I know, we're all very angry." There was complete silence after that, and Sakaki knew then that he'd struck a chord. His voice softened and he finally said, "but that's not what you meant, correct?" More silence. "You're angry with yourself," he stated, able to read the young prince quite easily. He thought back to last night - the prince had stayed up all night playing his violin, too afraid to sleep due to nightmares. He'd never seen Raj so shaken up in his entire life.

There was an even longer pause this time. So long, in fact, that Sakaki didn't think the prince would answer him. "Of course I'm angry with myself!" Raj suddenly exploded, having a tendency to lose his temper when upset, "if it weren't for me, she'd probably be just fine! You can't tell me that you can't see that!" Sakaki frowned, thinking quietly for a moment. The silence made Raj uncomfortable, and made him begin to question if he should apologize. The First Prince of Tanbarun was still relatively new to apologizing. When he felt the bed shift, he began to worry... he should really say something. He had to. Soon he could hear the door creaking open, wincing when he heard it shut, unable to get the apology out of his mouth. His heart sank. Even with all the fuss he'd thrown, he hadn't really wanted Sakaki to leave. He teared up just a bit, loosening his grip on the covers and preparing to spend the next two hours alone.

Just as soon as he'd completely resigned himself to that around five minutes later, the door slowly reopened. He listened, hearing it shut. There was a moment of silence before suddenly the covers were ripped off of him. He looked up at his aggressor in shock, annoyance and confusion, trying to will the tears back in to his eyes before his advisor could see them. "What do you think you're doing?" Raj asked between grit teeth.

Sakaki noticed the tears, but kept quiet about them. "I'm advising you, your highness," he explained, throwing the covers to the bottom of the bed, "and right now I'm advising you to get up and talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Sakaki," Raj tried, attempting to sound firm but failing quickly. He knew there was no talking Sakaki out of this, but there was no way he was going to talk about any of this without a fight.

Sakaki kept his eyes firmly locked with the younger man's, saying simply, "Prince Raj, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, and once you choose the hard way there's no going back." He'd been contemplating different ways to handle the wayward but newly conscientious prince for a few months now, and he thought he might have the answer. He'd give Raj a chance, though.

Raj faltered a bit when Sakaki gave him that firm look, his eyes slowly flickering away from his advisor's eyes. He wasn't sure what he meant by the hard way, but he definitely had no plans on taking the easy route. He huffed a bit, throwing himself on to his side and curling up, saying in a very put-upon voice, "go away, Sakaki." Why did he keep saying that? He obviously didn't want that...

"Very well, highness, we'll do it the hard way," Sakaki mused, not sounding even remotely angry. He was willing to do whatever it took to get through to the stubborn child. He released his sword from his belt, setting it down on the prince's dresser, which Raj found rather strange. He approached the bed, quickly reaching down and scooping the younger man up by his waist, under his arm.

Raj made a rather undignified squeak and flailed a bit, "j-just what do you think you're doing?! Put me down!"

Sakaki moved quickly, sitting down on the edge of the large bed and positioning Raj over his lap in the process. He immediately pinned the younger man's legs between his own, locking him in place over his left thigh. Before the prince had a chance to say anything, Sakaki reared his hand back and landed it firmly on to the right side of his backside.

The hard swat elicited a loud yelp from the younger man, and a growl of displeasure. He pulled at the covers, trying to pull himself free as he expressed his concern, "l-let me up! People... people will hear..."

Sakaki found it odd how Raj's main concern was that people would hear, and not that he was being spanked. He supposed that was normal for royalty - the prince had to learn at a very young age that public opinion meant everything. It was rather sad, really. "That's not something you have to worry about, Prince Raj, I've taken care of that," he promised. He'd never get through this kid's thick skull with him constantly worrying that people were listening.

When Sakaki explained that he'd taken care of it, Raj almost instantly relaxed a bit... which the advisor took instant note of. Not only was no one listening, but now Raj knew where Sakaki had gone when he'd left the room earlier. Sakaki had never planned on leaving. For reasons he didn't understand, that comforted the prince. Just as quickly as he relaxed, he tensed back up. He couldn't be so complacent, he had to fight. It was the only response he could think of that would possibly be _correct_. It wasn't _normal_ to relax, was it? He started yanking on the covers again and trying to wiggle off his lap. "You could get thrown in to the prisons for this," he tried, knowing very well that he could never actually do that to Sakaki.

"If getting you the help you need lands me behind bars, then so be it," Sakaki said firmly, pulling his hand back and landing a flurry of moderately hard spanks. Raj gasped and jolted forward, suddenly in stunned silence over what his advisor had said. Did he really care about him that much? Honestly he'd always thought he was mostly a job to Sakaki. To his dismay his muscles began relaxing again, and he forced himself rigid once more. He couldn't allow himself to relax. That was too strange.

Raj bit down on his lip, forcing out the words, "this isn't _helping_ anything!" He liked to think he sounded at least somewhat convincing. Sakaki ignored the feeble attempt to convince him, slowly landing harder smacks to the seat of his pants. The prince kept trying to pull himself off of his advisor's lap by yanking on the covers, but he seemed to be going nowhere. He eventually gave up on that tactic and threw his right hand back to try to block the assault. Sakaki quickly and silently took Raj's wrist and pinned it to the small of his back, before going right back to landing even harder smacks to his backside. The younger man tried to pull his wrist free, to no avail. "Stop it!" he tried. Nothing. He tried again, "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here, nothing will change." More silence and more spanking. He almost whined, "why do you even care?"

Sakaki stopped, arm poised mid air. "Why do I care? Highness, surely you can't be asking me that." Raj's head dipped a bit, not liking the surprise and disappointment in his advisor's voice. "From the moment I was born my family was involved with yours, you know," Sakaki reminded him, "when you were born, I was eleven years old. I watched you and the twins grow in to what you are now. Do you really think I don't care about whatever it is you're feeling right now?"

"I... no? I don't know..." Raj said quietly, sounding quite frustrated with his confusion. He groaned and buried his face in to the covers in frustration, shoulders tensing involuntarily.

Sakaki's voice softened when he saw how frustrated and tense Raj was. He took his free hand and gently rubbed his back, trying to calm him just a bit, "that's alright, you don't have to know." He felt the younger man begin to relax, so he simply kept rubbing big circles over his back for a while. Raj slowly began relaxing, occasionally tensing back up before inevitably relaxing again. He didn't understand how Sakaki could be so kind to him while also being so absolutely frustrating.

After around two to three minutes, Raj finally asked, "do you really have to pin my legs?"

Sakaki was surprised by the prince's question - he'd expected to be told to let him up again. "Are you going to stay put if I unpin them?" he asked, curious.

"If I must," Raj said, dramatically huffing and pushing his face further in to the bedding. Sakaki smiled just a bit at the huff, slowly removing his leg from overtop Raj's and reaching down to pull the prince's legs up on to the bed and back over both of his thighs as well. This position was a lot more comfortable, probably for both of them. He slowly let go of Raj's wrist, watching as the other man slowly pulled his arm back in front of him, folding his arms and burying his face into them.

Sakaki was impressed with the young prince's sudden acceptance. He patted Raj's backside in warning, bringing his hand back and landing it moderately, followed by many more. Raj gasped and jolted forward a bit, trying without avail to bury his face further in to his arms. "We need to talk about what's been going through your head, highness," he insisted.

"I don't, a-ah! I don't understand why..." Raj sulked, hanging on tightly to the covers with both hands.

Sakaki raised his right knee a bit, slowly moving the swats downward and to the very sensitive under-curve of his backside, causing the prince to yelp and kick a leg out. "You're never going to feel any better until you do," his advisor promised.

Raj actually turned his head to look back at Sakaki, asking in disbelief, "...really? That's... that's your _only_ reason?"

"It's the only reason I need, Prince Raj," the older man explained, finding it rather sad that Raj was surprised by that.

Raj was struggling to understand that Sakaki wasn't doing this because he was angry with him. That he was doing it because it was the only way that he could think of that had even a small chance of pulling the younger man out of the hole he was in. Raj was, unfortunately, extremely stubborn, and was still struggling to talk about anything that was bothering him. His entire life Raj had been used to complaining about all types of things, but in comparison to his current problem, those complaints in the past were so stupid. What had he been thinking, being such a spoiled little brat? No _real_ man would threaten to fire a servant for not using extravagant enough floral arrangements. No _real man_ would whine like a child when a woman didn't want to have sex with him. Only a monster would have her hunted down and poisoned. No. He didn't deserve to talk about any of this. He didn't deserve to feel better. He had to deal with this by himself.

After struggling inside of himself for a few moments, Raj finally said softly, "I have nothing to talk about." His voice was quiet, but had a hint of finality to it. He meant what he'd said - he had nothing to talk about.

Sakaki sighed softly, knowing that this meant he'd have to push the prince a bit further. He had to show him that he meant business, and that he had no plans on dropping the subject or going anywhere. "Very well, Prince Raj, we'll just have to take things a step further," the advisor explained.

Raj wondered what he meant by a step further, but he soon found his answer. He paled when he felt Sakaki reaching underneath him to unbuckle his belt. When he felt him unbutton his pants he began flailing his legs, hurrying nervously, "t-this... that's not necessary, Sakaki!"

The prince's advisor wrapped his left arm around his waist, holding him in place as he finished unbuttoning his pants and beginning to push his pants down over his hips. They were finely tailored pants, so he was careful not to be too rough with them. He watched Raj's reactions carefully as he finished pushing the pants down to his knees. The prince was definitely squirming, but he was by no means attempting to get up. He was wondering exactly what it was that was keeping the younger man over his knee. The truth was, if he'd thought for even a moment that he was damaging the prince emotionally, he would end this immediately. Either way Raj didn't seem in a particular hurry to get up, despite the situation. He did, however, bury his face as deeply in to his arms as he possibly could, groaning in frustration.

Sakaki wasted no time, wrapping his arm tighter around Raj's waist and rearing his hand back. When the sharp smack landed, the prince couldn't help but yelp loudly and jolt forward. Oh, wow, okay... that hurt a lot more over his undergarments than it did earlier. A few more swats in he began squirming, whining loudly, "Sakaki!"

"I know," Sakaki said oddly softly, the softness permeating Raj's defenses a little and forcing him to relax, even the slightest bit. The younger man let out a small whimper, which wasn't really all that out of character for the prince, but Sakaki knew that it probably meant that Raj was beginning to become more receptive. He slowly increased the speed and severity of the swats, inching them downward every few seconds, wanting to make sure that every inch of his backside was covered.

Much to Raj's dismay, that also seemed to mean the rather sensitive under-curve of his backside. When Sakaki focused there, Raj gasped and cried out a bit, "w-we can talk!"

The moment the younger man said that, Sakaki pulled the spanks away from his under-curve and back to the curve of his backside. He gave him a small, tight squeeze around his waist, encouraging softly, "that's good, highness, now talk to me."

Raj whined a bit when Sakaki didn't completely stop. He found it somewhat odd that Sakaki was being so gentle and kind with him. The advisor usually didn't hesitate to tell Raj he was acting ridiculous, sometimes in a rather harsh fashion. Well, Raj probably wouldn't have listened to a word he was saying if he did that right now... maybe the older man knew that. "There's... there's a lot," Raj said, sounding a bit lost. He wasn't sure where to start.

Sakaki swatted a bit softer now, not wanting to stop just yet, wanting to make sure Raj had the appropriate encouragement to talk. "That's alright, just take it one step at a time," he said gently, "start with the biggest thing, and work your way down."

Raj grabbed the covers tightly in his fists when he said that. The biggest thing, huh? Well, that wasn't hard to name. He took a deep, shuttering breath, pausing for a moment before saying hesitantly, "I... have been a pitiful prince."

The older man frowned, stopping when he heard him say that. He gave Raj's waist a squeeze, dropping his right hand to his lower back and rubbing. The prince took a long, shaky breath and let it out, melting just a bit at the rubbing. "You struggled a lot until recently, that's true," Sakaki agreed, about to continue before Raj cut him off.

"I didn't struggle," Raj challenged, "I refused to learn."

Sakaki took a deep breath and let it out, "I won't deny that." Lying or sugar coating things wouldn't help the younger man. He was going to have to be completely honest with him. "You're right, highness, you were a spoiled, naive, selfish brat," the advisor said, being brutally honest. He could see Raj's head dip and his shoulders slump in shame, so he hurried to finish his sentence. "That's what you were. What you _are_ is brave, diligent, conscientious, and eager to learn," Sakaki promised, voice confident. He meant what he'd said.

Raj's breath hitched for a moment - he hadn't expected to hear that. His heart swelled for a moment, feeling overcome with emotions. He fought the emotions back, shoulders shaking a bit. After a long pause, the prince said in an unbelievably small voice, "I'm fairly certain my father doesn't agree with you." Oh, wow, Sakaki had no idea how to respond to that. What the prince was saying was true, but Sakaki definitely didn't want to say that out loud. He promised himself not to lie to the younger man, though. Raj bit down on his lip at the silence, "you can't tell me I'm wrong, Sakaki... Rona and Eugena aren't the only sneaky ones in the family. They learned how to eavesdrop from watching _me._ " Raj took a shaky breath, steeling himself and saying, "my father thinks I'm an idiot." He said that so casually, but Sakaki recognized that small layer of hurt underneath his voice. It nearly broke his heart.

After a few moments of very intense thinking, Sakaki asked, "do you mind if I'm perfectly blunt with you, highness?"

Raj looked back at him with a look of disbelief and frustration, "are you saying you're not already doing that?"

Alright, fair enough, Sakaki thought. He'd been painfully blunt with him lately; Raj _had_ asked him to tell him when he felt he was lacking something as a prince. He smiled a bit at the younger man, before saying with complete seriousness, "your father can, at times, be a rather pernicious man." Raj blinked, staring at Sakaki for a moment before cracking a small smile and chuckling just a bit - he'd never heard anyone actually verbally articulate that about his father before. He buried his face back in to his arms and let out a small sigh. The older man rubbed Raj's back up and down for a moment, thinking hard on his words before finally saying, "it's only natural to want to please your father, Prince Raj... but if he can't see the changes you've made, then he's very obviously blind."

Just like that, it seemed Raj's mind transported elsewhere. "If... if I'd been better faster, though..." the prince said quietly, voice laced with exhaustion, "if I hadn't tried to force Shirayuki to be with me, she might not be in this situation right now. And now, now that we're about to go look for her, all I can think about it how terrified I am. I... I'm a coward."

Sakaki knew that part of that was very likely true, and he'd promised himself to never, ever lie to Raj about how he felt about his behavior. "That may very well be, highness," he said, rubbing a hand gently over the prince's shaking shoulders, "but you are not the man that broke in to her room. You're _not_ the one that knocked Obi unconscious, and you're definitely not the one that kidnapped her. These men have made their own choices, and you had no bearing on those choices. This was not your fault." Raj looked back at Sakaki, eyes wide and trying to read him. He needed to know that Sakaki wasn't just saying that to make him feel better. Sakaki smiled softly at the prince, before continuing on, "and there's nothing wrong with being terrified."

"There... there isn't?" Raj asked, not completely sure he believed him.

Sakaki shook his head, "highness, bravery doesn't mean not being afraid. It means pushing yourself to move forward, even when you are. So if you're terrified, that's alright. It's only human. If you're terrified then _tell_ me, I'll never judge you for it."

There was a very long silence, but Sakaki kept quiet, able to tell that the younger man had something he wanted to say. "Sakaki?" Raj asked quietly.

"Yes, your highness?" he asked, but didn't push, giving him all the time he needed to say what he needed to say.

Another very long pause, followed by an almost silent, "I'm terrified."

Sakaki softened his voice, "I know... and that's alright, I promise you. You shouldn't feel ashamed of being scared." He squeezed Raj around the waist once more, "we're going to find the men that did this, Prince Raj. I know it's difficult to understand, but this wasn't your fault."

"Then why does it _feel_ like it's my fault...?" Raj asked quietly, sounding extremely confused. Guilt was still a very new concept to the previously selfish prince.

Sakaki smiled softly, "because you're growing in to a good, decent person, Prince Raj." He kept rubbing his shoulders, the shaking dissipating just a bit. He did his best to explain, "I know you feel extremely guilty about the way you once treated Shirayuki, and all of your people... but I promise you, highness, what has happened to her is not your fault."

There was a long silence, Raj trying to digest what Sakaki had said. Finally he asked softly, "how... h-how do I make it stop, Sakaki...?"

Sakaki's heart nearly broke at that. The poor kid hadn't been taught well enough as a child how to handle being wrong. He had no idea how to handle guilt. Sakaki did his best to figure out how to answer that. "Most of it will just take time," Sakaki informed him sadly, feeling how the prince's shoulders slumped at that. He sighed, thinking for a moment before continuing on cautiously, "highness, you've done all I've asked. You've spoken with me about what's troubling you, openly and honestly. I'm inclined to allow you up." There was a pause, and Raj didn't interrupt for once. "However, if you think that me continuing on might help your guilt, even a small bit, then I would advise you to stay put," Sakaki explained, "it's your choice."

The silence was palpable, and the air was so thick you could likely cut it with a knife. Sakaki didn't push him for an answer, he knew this would take some thinking. Raj had no idea what he wanted to do - he couldn't believe he was even considering this. He _was_ considering it, though. He felt miserable and guilty, two emotions he had only just recently come to understand, and here Sakaki was, offering him help... no matter how small and temporary that help might be. "I... Sakaki, I..." Raj tried softly, biting down on his lip a bit, "I want you to do what you think is right, I... I don't know what to do."

Sakaki's eyes widened, not having expected an answer like that. He didn't know that the prince's trust in him extended that far. He was unbelievably touched. "I understand," he said softly, rubbing his back once more before moving his hand back to the prince's rear. Raj tensed up a bit and Sakaki crooned, "it's alright, highness, I'm going to take good care of you." The young prince's muscles almost melted in to a puddle from that simple promise. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt so comforted, despite the fact that he knew this was probably going to be terrible.

Sakaki was deep in his own mind, trying to think of ways to push the prince in just the right ways. He knew one thing for sure, this was probably going to have to end in tears if Prince Raj was going to move forward. The thought of being the one to cause that created a huge knot in his chest. This wasn't going to be easy. He patted Raj's backside for a moment, before hooking his fingers in the waistband of his undergarments. He knew the younger man wasn't going to like this, and he was right. Raj's hand shot back with intent to grab on to his clothes. Just before he reached his waistband, though, he suddenly stopped, laying his hand at his side and hanging on to Sakaki's pants. The prince seemed to be trying very hard to trust Sakaki. The older man smiled softly at that thought, carefully pulling the undergarments down to join his pants at his knees. Raj tightened his grip on his advisor's pants, tensing up as he felt the air meet his skin. Sakaki took his left hand, reaching down for Raj's hand and taking it in his own, holding it to the younger man's side and giving it a firm squeeze. He looked like he'd needed something to hang on to. Raj took a deep breath and let it out slowly, body melting just a small bit.

Once he felt Raj relax and he felt it was safe to move on, he took his right hand and gently patted his backside. He brought his hand back, landing it firmly and quickly. The prince cried out and jolted forward, whimpering and trying to hold still. Sakaki winced when the younger man jolted, knowing that it had to hurt. Still, he pulled his hand back yet again and began peppering his backside in firm, quick spanks. He definitely wasn't messing around... the swats were a lot harder and faster than before. He felt Raj hold on tightly to his hand as the spanking picked back up. He squeezed the younger man's hand, beginning to think that maybe now would be the right time to start talking. "You're right that you were once a selfish, naive prince, Prince Raj. You will never hear me lie to you about your actions. I'll always be honest with you about how I feel - it's my job as your advisor, and as your friend," Sakaki explained as he slowly moved the swats further down. He raised his right knee a bit so he could perk his backside up for better aiming, focusing some good, sharp swats to his under-curves. Raj whimpered and cried out every now and then, but let out a clearly pained yelp when he began focusing on that sensitive area. When Sakaki also called him his friend, he felt a lump raise in his throat. No, he wasn't going to cry. He wished Sakaki would put his knee down - he felt way too vulnerable right now.

Sakaki knew that if the younger man was going to get what he needed, then he might have to really step up his game. "You never have to worry that you'll fall back in to those ways again, highness. I promise you... I'll be right here to put you back over my knee if that gets even remotely close to happening, is that understood, young man?" he asked firmly, trying to give Raj that emotional push that he needed. He caught his thighs a few times to emphasize his point, knowing that had to sting rather badly.

Raj's breath hitched at how Sakaki was talking. The prince was really beginning to feel very small, and it was becoming difficult to hide it. He wanted to trust that Sakaki would make sure he wouldn't become the monster he'd been before. He really, really did. He took a deep, shaky breath, swallowing hard and whimpering, "yes, sir." He yelped loudly when he spanked his thighs, whimpering louder and kicking out.

Well, that was unexpected. Sakaki had expected the 'yes', but not the 'sir'. It felt strange, honestly, since that was what he usually called Raj. No matter what, though, the fact that Raj trusted him that completely was simply staggering. "Good boy," Sakaki tried, noticing how small the younger man seemed to be becoming, and quickly. Raj bit down on his lip at that praise, squeezing Sakaki's hand tighter. With that response Sakaki decided that the young prince could use some more praise. "I know you're guilty, Prince Raj," he started, making sure to spread the spanking evenly between his bottom, under-curves and thighs, "but you need to understand that you've worked undeniably hard to become the kind, intelligent, brave prince that you are now. I've never been as proud of you as I am now."

That lump raised higher in the prince's throat. He squirmed and kicked his legs out frantically as the spanks got harder and faster, the sting seriously beginning to build up. He teared up a bit, asking quietly, "you... you're...?"

"Very proud of you, yes," Sakaki promised firmly, squeezing his hand as he moved the swats down to focus on his under-curves. "I know Shirayuki is, as well. You've worked so hard to become a prince she could be proud of, and I know we can both rely on you."

There was a long pause, and then Raj asked with a watery voice, "y-you.. you can r-rely on me...?"

"Absolutely," Sakaki promised, voice confident, but soft, "I know you're scared, but you and I are going to team up with Prince Zen and his people... and we're going to find her, and bring her back."

Raj's shoulders shook harder, his voice breaking as he asked almost silently, "d-do you promise...?"

Sakaki marveled at how childish the prince sounded. He did his best to keep the spanking sharp and quick, struggling a bit with how watery Raj's voice was. He squeezed the younger man's hand, his voice firm, but gentle, "I promise you, Prince Raj, I will do everything in my power to help you find her. We won't rest until we do."

Raj sniffled a bit, kicking his legs a bit harder - his pants had been kicked down to his ankles by now, only really hanging on by one ankle. He wasn't nearly as gentle with the fine material as Sakaki had been. He clenched his eyes shut tightly, tears beginning to run down his face silently. He yelped every few spanks, staying oddly quiet for a good while before saying so softly it might have been missed, "Sakaki, you... y-you don't have to call me p-prince right now." It actually somehow felt strange to be called that in this situation.

Sakaki's eyes widened, not expecting that at all. He couldn't help a small smile from creeping on to his face - he felt unbelievably honored. "Alright," he said softly, raising his knee to get better aim at his under-curves and thighs. "I promise you, Raj, we won't rest until we find her," Sakaki said, with conviction. Raj was beginning to kick and squirm more weakly, finally letting out a small, audible sob. The advisor knew he had to push him. He gently rubbed the back of the prince's hand with his thumb as he peppered his backside with sharp smacks. As he swatted his under-curves he reminded him, "I'll always be here to make sure you don't move backwards, Raj... I won't let you become that person again."

Raj's shoulders shook harder, soft cries able to be heard between yelps. He was no longer squirming or kicking, just laying still over his lap and asking so softly, "do you promise?"

Sakaki squeezed his hand again, swatting his backside a few times and answering just as softly, "I promise, Raj... I'll be right here to take care of you."

Raj held his breath for a moment, holding it as long as he possibly could to try to fight the emotions threatening to spill out. When Sakaki noticed him holding his breath, he landed two good, hard pops to the prince's thighs. Raj yelped and finally exhaled, shoulders heaving and trembling.

Sakaki could see that he was hanging by a thread. "I know you're not used to expressing your emotions, Raj," the advisor said, still getting used to calling him Raj. However, if the younger man had said he didn't have to call him prince while spanking him, it had to have been for a reason. "I know it's hard to believe, but emotions aren't always weakness. Right here, right now, it's safe to show me everything you're feeling." He drew his hand back, landing it sharply over the center of his bottom, saying firmly, "you don't have to hide from me, Raj."

The prince gasped at the smack to the center of his backside, letting out a long whine that quickly turned in to audible sobbing. He had a handful of covers clenched tightly in his fist, other hand hanging on tightly to Sakaki's, shoulders heaving as the sobs quickly got louder and more out of control. The older man finally stayed his hand, rubbing his back in gentle circles and crooning softly, "it's all over, shhh..." Sakaki couldn't help but immediately begin trying to comfort the prince. Causing him this much distress was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He really hoped it had helped. Oh God, he really hoped so. Raj's sobbing just got louder, not even beginning to know how to turn it off now that it had started. Sakaki slowly let go of the younger man's hand, reaching down and carefully pulling his undergarments back up and in to place for modesty's sake, careful not to rake them over the sore skin. He'd leave the pants where they were - he was sure the prince's bottom was a bit too sore for them right now.

Sakaki reached down and slowly helped the prince up, encouraging him gently, "come here, Raj... I've got you." He'd almost called him highness, but stopped himself. It took Raj a moment to realize what Sakaki had said, eventually trying to get himself up in to a sitting position, but struggling to do so. The cries were ripping out of his throat and his body was shaking, almost falling over when he finally got up. He covered his face with one of his arms as he sobbed, not wanting Sakaki to see his face. Sakaki caught him before he could fall, pulling him in to his arms and holding him as tightly as possible. Raj gasped softly when Sakaki wrapped his arms around him, not really used to anyone comforting him so directly. He took a long, shaky breath, before breaking back down in to loud sobbing. He flinched at how loud his own crying was, burying his face in to Sakaki's chest to muffle it. The prince slowly reached up with his right hand, gripping Sakaki's cloak tightly and yanking a bit. Sakaki let him bury his face, feeling how he hung on to his cloak. He held him closer with his right arm, reaching up with his left hand to cradle the back of his head. Raj just cried harder when he felt his hand on the back of his head, taking his left hand and slinking it around Sakaki's waist and hanging on to the back of his shirt.

Sakaki could feel how Raj was beginning to go limp against him, not really able to hold himself up anymore from how hard he was crying. "Raj," the older man prompted gently, "I'm going to lay us down, alright?" He wanted to make sure he wasn't pushing any boundaries. He knew that the prince would only be able to take so much boundary pushing in one day. Raj quickly nodded, exhausted and struggling to stay upright. Sakaki nodded, beginning to let go of Raj to move... immediately stopping when Raj whimpered and hung on tighter, crying in a rather panicked fashion. The advisor realized very quickly that letting go of the younger man was not an option. "Shhh, it's alright..." Sakaki crooned, "I'm not going anywhere, it's alright... it's alright." Raj slowly began calming, still sobbing but definitely sounding less panicked. Sakaki held the prince closely against him, letting himself fall backward on to the bed, taking Raj with him. "Alright, now... move up on to the bed with me," he instructed softly, their legs still hanging off of the bed at their knees. Sakaki shifted himself to the left and on to the bed, and Raj worked very hard to follow him.

"Good... that's good, good boy," the older man praised without thinking, moving his head to the pillow. Raj was still hanging on tightly to Sakaki's cloak and shirt, face buried firmly in to his chest. He quieted and stilled a bit at the praise, whimpering pathetically before breaking back down in to a loud fit of sobs. Sakaki wasn't sure why what he'd said had upset the prince so much, but after a few moments of thinking, it hit him. He smiled sadly, saying firmly, "you _are._ " Raj shook his head fervently, sobbing a bit harder and hiccuping. He noticed the hiccup - poor kid wasn't used to crying for so long. "Shhh, nonsense..." Sakaki crooned, carding his fingers through his now disheveled hair, "you're a very good boy, remember I said I would never lie to you about how I feel."

Raj hung on tighter to his advisor, crying just a little softer, not able to help but melt at the older man's words. Sakaki smiled softly as he felt him melt, continuing to shower the younger man with praise, murmuring, "I'm so proud of you, Raj." The prince's chest twisted - he'd never been told that with such sincerity before. He let out a little pained sound, crying harder for just a moment before going back to a normal volume. He was so happy to hear that, that it almost hurt. Sakaki made a small, sympathetic noise, holding the prince as closely as possible and murmuring, "I know, it's alright... just give it all to me. With me, you can cry as hard and as long as you need to." He needed to get the younger man to understand that he didn't have to hide anything.

The prince sniffled a bit, before nuzzling his face further in to Sakaki and just letting himself sob. A lot of these things had been building up for several months now, and finally letting them surface was exhausting, and painful. The tears raged on and on for what felt like forever, the younger man not really knowing how to close the massive flood gates that were now open for the first time since he was a small child. Sakaki never faltered, holding him as closely as he possibly could, carding his fingers through his hair and making calming noises. He whispered his praises every couple of minutes, making sure the prince understood exactly how he felt about him. After a few minutes, Raj clung on a bit tighter, whimpering softly, "I... I'm terrified."

"That's alright," Sakaki promised, holding him tighter for a moment before taking his hand off of the back of his head and using it to rub his back in big, gentle circles, murmuring, "that's always alright."

Raj melted against his advisor, still crying softly as he said, "I'm t-terrified... but I'm not a coward." His voice betrayed that he wasn't completely confident in his statement. He looked up at Sakaki with big, puffy, bloodshot eyes, looking for some kind of affirmation, "I'm... I'm going to find her."

Sakaki smiled proudly at Raj when he looked at him, saying confidently, "that's right, and I'm not going to leave your side the entire time."

Raj visibly relaxed against Sakaki, laying his head back down on his chest and closing his eyes, crying quietly now. His heart swelled from the proud look Sakaki had given him, though he'd never admit it. He felt a good measure better, but for some reason the tears weren't stopping. "I'm s-sorry, I... I can't seem to stop," Raj sniffled, biting down on his quivering lip to try to hold back the tears still trying to escape.

Sakaki gave him a soft smile, even though he couldn't see it. "That's nothing to apologize for, I promise," he explained gently, carding his fingers through his hair, "you just have to let it happen. It'll stop on its own eventually." He hardened his voice just in the slightest way, "stop trying to fight it, understood?" There was a long pause, followed by nodding and more sobbing. Sakaki softened his voice again, praising, "good boy." Raj cried a bit harder for just a moment before returning to his normal volume. Oh, he could get used to hearing that. People had praised him up and down his entire life... but when Sakaki did it, it was truly genuine.

Another five to ten minutes passed, the prince crying and sniffling the entire time. Eventually, the room fell quiet, and all that could be heard was Raj attempting, and failing, to breathe through his nose. Sakaki reached under his cape and in to his pocket, pulling out a large, embroidered handkerchief. Sakaki began gently cleaning the younger man's face first, making sure he wiped up all of the tears and other bodily fluids first. Raj allowed him to do that, too tired to care at this point. However, when the older man bunched it up and held it to his nose, Raj looked up at him with an inquiring and put-upon look. "What?" Sakaki asked, plugging one side of his nose to make it easier to blow and saying with a completely straight face, "I've been wiping your nose since you were five years old, do you really think now's any different?"

Raj looked up at Sakaki, really studying his face and looking for any signs that this actually bothered the older man some how. The advisor held his face as it was - he'd meant what he'd said. The prince seemed to think for ages before finally lifting his head up, taking a deep breath and blowing hard. Sakaki was definitely relieved, pulling the handkerchief away just long enough to fold it again and hold it back to his nose, plugging the other side this time. "Once more," he prompted gently, and this time Raj didn't hesitate, blowing even harder. Sakaki noticed the immediate relief on Raj's face as he took a deep breath in through his nose.

"...Thank you," Raj said quietly, feeling kind of bad for using Sakaki's handkerchief like that. Before the older man could answer, the prince laid his head back on his chest and said quietly, "I'm so tired."

"I don't blame you," Sakaki replied, petting his hair back and asserting gently, "but before you take a nap, I need you to drink some water." Raj let out a tiny whine when Sakaki attempted to peel himself away from the prince. "It's alright, I'll come straight back, I don't even have to leave the room," Sakaki promised. Raj released a small huff, before finally letting go of Sakaki's cloak and shirt, slowly. His advisor rolled off of the bed, getting to his feet and going over to the pitcher of water that a maid had left in the room earlier. Raj's hands now felt painfully empty, so he reached over for one of his pillows and pulled it in to his arms, still feeling rather small. Sakaki poured the water in to one of the empty glasses on the tray, picking it up and bringing it to Raj. "I want you to drink the entire thing," he instructed.

Raj let go of the pillow when Sakaki came back, sitting up and wincing a bit as his backside hit the bed. He looked at the water, whining a bit, "the entire thing?" One would think he was asking the impossible of him.

"I know, it's a lot," Sakaki said, putting up with Raj's childish attitude for once, knowing he was sore and tired, "but you're dehydrated, trust me... you need to drink or you won't feel very well when you wake up." Raj stared at him for a moment, thinking about how when he woke up, they were going to set out to find Shirayuki. Sakaki was right, he needed it. He sighed dramatically, taking the glass from Sakaki's hands and beginning to drink. After a few sips, the prince began drinking rather greedily, finishing the glass in less than five seconds flat. Apparently he was thirstier than he'd realized. Sakaki wasn't shocked by that. He took the glass from him when he was done, asking, "do you want any more?" Raj shook his head, just wanting to sleep. Sakaki nodded, walking across the room to set the glass back down before going straight back to the bed. He peeled the covers back, ushering the prince to get underneath them. Raj quickly crawled under them, kicking his pants off underneath the covers... they were only hanging on by one ankle anyway. When he was done he looked up expectantly at Sakaki. He wanted him to lay down, too.

Sakaki undid the tie on the bed's curtains, letting them fall before he laid down next to the younger man, slowly beginning to lay down on top of the covers. Raj looked at him strangely, and Sakaki raised an eyebrow. "Won't you be cold?" the prince asked.

The advisor was surprised when he heard what the younger man had said. "I didn't think you'd want me to come under the covers," he explained. Raj looked down, looking like perhaps he'd said something wrong. Raj had been second guessing himself a lot the last few months. "Would you like me to?" Sakaki asked.

Raj slowly looked up at Sakaki, asking cautiously, "is that wrong...?"

Sakaki smiled, shaking his head and ruffling the prince's hair, "not at all." He got back up to his feet, kneeling down and untying his boots. He slipped them off, not wanting to dirty his sheets. He peeled the covers back and slipped underneath them. Sakaki made sure the curtains were properly shut before laying down next to Raj. The moment Sakaki was under the covers, Raj latched right back on to him. His hands went right back to their previous positions, one gripping his cloak and the other slinking underneath him to hang on to his shirt, laying his head on his chest again. Sakaki couldn't help but smile a bit when he felt him hanging on. He wrapped one arm back around him, pulling him in closer and running his fingers through his hair and occasionally scratching his scalp lightly. The prince took a long breath, letting it out slowly and closing his sore eyes, completely and utterly melting against his advisor as he scratched.

"Sakaki," the prince murmured quietly, already half asleep against the older man.

Sakaki kept him held closely, continuing to scratch his scalp, "yes, Raj?" Calling him that was still strange to him.

There was a bit of a pause before Raj finally whispered, "thank you... for caring."

"Raj..." Sakaki started, absolutely blown away by what the younger man had said, "you never have to thank me for that."

"I do..." Raj argued softly, yawning and nuzzling closer to him, "no one... no one has ever bothered. I suppose I _am_ exhausting."

Sakaki frowned, squeezing Raj against him tightly and insisting, "oh, kiddo... I'd do it a thousand times more if it meant helping you."

Raj's muscles melted at that promise, especially enjoying the nickname. He whined quietly, "maybe not a thousand times... it really hurt..."

"I know," Sakaki said quietly, holding the prince closely with one arm and reaching down with his other hand and cautiously rubbing his sore bottom. He wasn't entirely sure if it would be welcome - it was a rather personal thing. It looked like he didn't have to worry, though, as the moment he began rubbing Raj completely and utterly melted. Still, he wanted to be sure. "Is this alright?" he asked, careful not to rub too harshly.

Raj nodded, stretching a bit and hanging on tighter, murmuring quietly, "yes... please, don't stop. It helps." Sakaki smiled, nodding and continuing to rub the sore skin. He strained a bit to reach further down, paying some attention to his under-curves and thighs. He was sure they hurt the worst. Raj let out a long, contented sigh, mumbling, "Sakaki I... m'tired..."

The advisor grinned, gently patting his backside and going back to rubbing, "get some sleep, Raj... I'll stay right here."

"Promise...?" Raj asked sleepily, struggling to stay awake.

Sakaki kept rubbing his bottom in soft, calming circles, murmuring, "I promise, I won't go anywhere. Now get some rest... I'll wake you up when it's time to go." Raj nodded, not really looking forward to sitting on that horse, but currently too tired to care. Knowing that Sakaki would stay right here with him, he finally allowed himself to succumb to the sleep that had been trying to claim him for almost twenty-four hours now. Sakaki smiled as the prince finally went limp, feeling how his grip on his clothing loosened a bit. That sure hadn't taken long. He kept rubbing his backside even while he slept, just wanting to make sure Raj stayed completely relaxed while he was asleep. The next few days were going to be very rough on Raj, and Sakaki was going to make sure the younger man was at least somewhat rested.

He looked down at the prince in his arms, unbelievably proud of how much he'd grown in the last few months, let alone the last hour. Sakaki vowed to himself right then - he would always be there for Raj. He'd make sure the younger man grew in to the prince he aspired to be. He would make sure that Raj never, ever saw himself as pitiful again.

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Well, that's all for now! I'm not completely sure if I'll be writing a Chapter Two just yet, though I do have some ideas. It's great seeing you guys again!

Johnna


	2. Chapter Two

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys! Well, Chapter Two came faster than I expected. I guess I just got really in to it. I know that a lot of this fic involves parts from the episode, and I kind of feel awful for it. I'm just going to say this now, not all parts of this chapter are my idea or words. This part of the anime partly followed Raj and partly followed Zen, so I decided to write out my idea of the parts that the anime didn't show centering around Raj. I really hope that made sense, haha. Not much spanking in this chapter, though there's the occasional swat. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading. By the way, thank you to the person that recently reviewed! I would have messaged to thank you, but it wouldn't allow me.  
 _This chapter contains spoilers for episodes 17, 18, and 19._

* * *

"Kazuki was a slave to The Claw before he joined with us," Itoya bit out, eyeing Zen and Raj up angrily, "after they had enough of 'em, they sold him to some nobles that only kept him around because he was _pretty_. They treated him like a living doll. _That's_ why, when Kazuki heard Shirayuki's story, he identified with an unfortunate girl who's stolen by a prince against her will just because her red hair caught his eye! He wanted to take her to a place where such _fools_ couldn't find her."

Prince Raj stared in shock at one of the Lions of the Mountain as he angrily spat his story out to Zen. He swallowed hard, looking down. Sakaki immediately glanced at Raj, assessing his wellbeing. Raj slowly looked over at Kiki, "would you excuse me for a moment?" She gave him a strange look, but nodded, her attention more focused on Zen than anywhere else. She didn't find it that odd that Raj needed a moment alone after hearing what they'd just heard. She knew Sakaki would keep him safe. Raj slowly steered his horse off the road and in to the forest, moving a lot faster once he was out of eyesight. Oh God, this was all his fault. All of this could have been avoided if he'd just been a decent human being. On top of that, it was a kidnapping within a kidnapping. Kazuki and Shirayuki had been kidnapped by the Claw of the Sea. They were famous for their cruelty and their sales in human cargo. Oh God... what was going to happen to her?

Once Raj was far enough away from them, he stopped his horse, immediately hopping off of it and keeling over, hands on his knees. He shook, his skin going clammy and his insides catching fire. He started breathing heavily to try to fight it, mouth filling with thick saliva as he failed. He shook harder, not able to hold it back any longer and heaving, vomiting some of the meek lunch he'd eaten earlier. By the second heave he'd fallen down to his knees, groping around the ground for something to hang on to. He dug his fingers in to the dirt, yanking on the grass and vomiting. He whimpered, feeling some of the bile shoot up his nasal passages with the last wave.

Raj suddenly became vaguely aware of someone's hand rubbing up and down his back. It was hard to focus too strongly on it, his mind preoccupied by the fact that he was losing his lunch... though he was sure he knew who it was. "Sa-Sakak-" he started, gagging at the end of his name and spitting up more bile. He started dry heaving, not having much food on his stomach. He'd hardly been able to eat ever since he'd found out about Shirayuki. The dry heaving was so painful, the inside of his stomach was on fire and his abdominal muscles were screaming. He started sobbing defeatedly between heaves, starting to breathe heavily and quickly, hyperventilating. The prince could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his face and neck, not sure how he could feel so hot and cold all at once.

"Shhh, it's alright, highness," Sakaki murmured, continuing to rub his hand up and down his back. "I'm here, you're going to be alright." He frowned at the crying and hyperventilation... the poor boy sounded so tired. He was sure that the crying was a mix of the vomiting and the guilt.

Raj sobbed harder for a short moment, retching up another small portion of his lunch that he hadn't known was still there. He didn't deserve the affection that Sakaki had been showering him with all day. He shook, yanking grass from the ground with the dirt still attached, clumsily throwing it back at Sakaki and saying pathetically, "g-go away!" The dirt easily missed Sakaki, just landing in front of him. He sobbed, dry heaving some more before expelling more bile, mucus running out of his nose and dripping to the ground. On top of the crying, his eyes watered a bit with each heave.

"I'll do no such thing," Sakaki said firmly, keeping a hand on Raj's back and letting him vomit what he needed to up.

The prince's hyperventilation quickly got more severe. "Go a-away!" he shouted, vomiting again, but less bile coming out, now. "Leave me alone, you... y-you don't have to be here!" he shouted, his voice filled with venom. Of course he didn't actually want his advisor to leave, but he was swimming in a pool of self pity right now and he felt very strongly that Sakaki was being way too good to him.

Sakaki kept his hand right where it was, his tone very serious, "I'm not going anywhere, Prince Raj." He could see through the younger man, knowing exactly what he was attempting. He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing firmly and saying, "it's not your fault."

The nausea was finally beginning to dissipate enough for him to move. Raj's stomach still felt like it was going to melt from the heat, though. He dug his fingers in to the dirt, ripping himself up to his feet and away from Sakaki, dirt and grass filling his fists. It took a moment to get his feet properly underneath him, swaying side to side for a moment before he raised his fist weakly above his head, throwing the dirt down at Sakaki, just missing him again. Sakaki got up to his feet, and before he could say anything the prince began yelling, "are you really that stupid?!"

"Raj," Sakaki warned him, voice hardening as he dropped the prefix.

"Or are you just deaf? Because I heard them say very clearly that they kidnapped her because of what _I did_. So please, enlighten me! Explain your foolish logic to me!" Raj shouted, lifting his other fist in to the air and throwing that handful of soil and grass with more enthusiasm, hitting Sakaki right on his left cheek. He was seething, and in the heat of the moment, he fell back on his oldest coping mechanism - making others look stupid so he would feel _less_ stupid.

Sakaki hardly flinched, his left eye shutting a bit before quickly reopening. He slowly reached up, wiping the residue off of his face. He looked at Raj with dangerously calm eyes for just a moment, taking just two quick strides to get to the prince's side. Raj's eyes widened a bit when he realized just what he had done and just _who_ he had done it to. His advisor reared his hand back, landing it with a firm crack over one of his undoubtedly still sore under-curves. Raj yelped loudly, jumping a bit and immediately moving both hands back to cover his backside, looking up at his advisor in shock. Sakaki gave Raj a very firm look, explaining in an even but stern tone, "while your actions did indeed set the ball in to motion, that was several months ago and these people were beyond ridiculous to have not checked their facts. What's more, they took her against her _will_ when they very well could have just spoken to her and gotten the truth. What they did was _no better_ than what you had done. Now, unless you'd like to take another good, long trip over my knee when we get back home, you had better learn to _never_ treat me that way again, or anyone else for that matter. Have I made myself perfectly clear, young man?"

Raj stared at the older man with wide, shocked eyes. He'd never been scolded like that before. Sakaki had not been kidding when he said he wouldn't allow Raj to turn back in to what he once was. It was actually comforting on a certain level, but the younger man was so absolutely exhausted and raw from the last two days that he couldn't help but tear up. He played with the hem of his vest, looking down at his feet. "Y-Yes, sir," the prince murmured, voice watery as he bit his lip to hold back tears, "I... I'm s-sorry."

Sakaki's face softened when he heard the quiet apology. He slowly reached out and pulled Raj back toward him, saying gently, "how about we get you cleaned up, hm?" Raj nodded, letting out a choked sob and trying to hold himself together. Sakaki looked back at the road - they were too close for comfort. "Come with me," Sakaki instructed gently, leading him behind a large, oversized tree. "Sit down," he said softly, trying to give the prince simple, easy to follow instructions since he was obviously panicking. Raj slowly lowered himself to the ground with Sakaki's help, the advisor not far behind, joining him under the tree. Not long after sitting down, the younger man's shoulders started shaking. Before he knew it he was sobbing quietly, slowly leaning in Sakaki's general direction, hoping for some of that affection and comfort he'd rejected earlier. Sakaki wrapped an arm around the prince, pulling him in closely against him. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping up the mucus under Raj's nose.

Raj sniffled, crying a little harder and pressing himself more firmly in to Sakaki's side, whispering, "I'm s-sorry..."

"Shhh, it's alright," Sakaki crooned, holding him tighter and dabbing at the vomit on his lips, "you're working on just one hour of sleep, I know it's not easy." As much as he'd wanted to go easy on the exhausted prince, he'd made a promise to him earlier that morning. He'd never let him slip back in to his old ways.

"I... I threw d-dirt at your fa-haaace," the prince sobbed, really breaking down at the end of that sentence. He turned and buried his face in to Sakaki's cloak once all of the mucus and vomit were off of his face.

Sakaki smiled sadly, wrapping both arms supportively around the younger man and letting him cry. "I know, shhh..." he crooned, "I forgive you." That only elicited harder sobbing, and so Sakaki slowly reached over with his left hand, slipping it underneath Raj's knees and lifting them a bit. He swung his legs up and over his lap, so he was almost sitting on his lap, but not quite, his backside still on the ground. Raj bit down on his lip when he realized what Sakaki had done, going silent for a moment before literally throwing his arms up and around his advisor's neck, hanging on for dear life and sobbing quietly. Sakaki was actually a little shocked, but he quickly wrapped both arms around the prince, murmuring, "shhh, I'm right here. I've got you... I'll take care of you."

"I'm s-scared!" Raj announced, face buried in to Sakaki's neck as he did his best to keep his crying under control. He didn't want to spook the horses and draw attention to them.

Sakaki was so proud of the prince for admitting that. "I know, and that's alright," he reassured him, reaching up with one hand and carding his fingers through his hair. "We're going to find her, kiddo," he promised, "we're going to bring her home."

"H-How?" Raj asked, trying to keep his crying in check enough to talk, "I've hardly ever left my castle, I... I don't know how I'm going to fix anything." He buried his face further in to Sakaki's neck, growling quietly in frustration, "but... but I can't do _nothing_!"

Sakaki squeezed him closer, murmuring, "you won't do nothing. We've not been out here very long, you have to give it a chance. You and Prince Zen are going to figure this out. You're not stupid, Raj... don't underestimate yourself, alright?" Raj sniffled, trying very hard to listen to what Sakaki was saying. His arms loosened a bit around the older man's neck, and he pulled back just enough to nod. Sakaki smiled, petting his hair back and praising, "good boy."

Raj took a deep, shaky breath... letting it out slowly and crying in a more calm fashion. He was confident that he'd never get tired of hearing that. He finally relaxed a bit, crying slowly calming in to sniffles. "Here, Raj..." Sakaki said softly, unclasping his canteen and unscrewing the top. He offered it to the younger man, "why don't you rinse your mouth out, you'll feel better."

Raj sniffled, slowly taking the canteen and shakily raising it to his lips. He took a few sips, swishing it around in his mouth and slowly pulling his legs off of Sakaki's legs so he could spit away from him, in to the grass. He didn't even contemplate what to do next, putting his legs right back on top of Sakaki's and handing him the canteen, saying quietly, "...thank y-you." It was a relief to have some of that nasty taste gone from his mouth.

The advisor's heart swelled at how the younger man went right back to sitting on his lap. He took the canteen, screwing it shut and re-attaching it to his belt. Raj slowly laid his head down on Sakaki's shoulder, and Sakaki wrapped his arms back around him and gave him a squeeze. Raj cried for only a minute or so longer, slowly calming down in to a few sniffles here and there. Once it seemed the younger man was mostly done crying, Sakaki folded up the handkerchief so it was clean. He carefully began cleaning Raj's face of the tears, and Raj let him, just keeping his head rested on his shoulder.

"Good boy," Sakaki said softly again, putting his handkerchief back in his pocket and petting the younger man's hair back. Raj took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and melting against his advisor. Yeah, he'd never get tired of hearing that.

After just taking a moment to breathe, Raj finally said softly, "Sakaki, I... I'm sorry I called you stupid. I don't think you're stupid." He kept his eyes shut tightly, not wanting to look the older man in the eyes as he said that... ashamed of how he'd acted.

Sakaki smiled softly at the younger man, squeezing him tightly and reassuring him, "it's alright, I know. You're tired, and you're sick with worry."

Raj bit down on his lip, nodding quietly before saying, "we have to get back to join the others, I... I want to know where The Claw has taken her."

The older man nodded, helping Raj swing his legs back on to the ground. He got to his own feet, reaching down and helping the prince up. He made sure Raj was steady on his feet before helping him back around the tree and to his horse. Raj got one foot in the stirrup but struggled to raise himself up on to the saddle, feeling very weak from all of the vomiting, crying, lack of eating and lack of sleep. Sakaki manually helped him get his other leg over the horse, making sure he was properly seated before going to his own horse and climbing on. He headed back toward the road, Raj quickly joining him. He made sure his horse was right next to Sakaki's, feeling more than a bit clingy.

As they made it back to join the others, they'd found that the others had somewhat come to a truce. Zen saw Raj and Sakaki returning, and so he led his horse over to them to talk, Kiki and Mitsuhide not far behind. When he finally got face to face, Zen almost immediately noticed the other prince's red, puffy eyes and pale face. The Lions of the Mountain's reason for abducting Shirayuki must have been too much for him to take, he assumed. Zen actually found that Raj's obviously awful emotional state almost immediately caused him to respect the other man a lot more than he had just a bit earlier. "Raj, the Lions have proposed that we look for Kazuki and Shirayuki together, since we have a common goal," Zen explained, "the Lions are asking if we're willing to forget what has happened with Shirayuki in order to work together. They're technically in Tanbarun territory, so this really isn't my call."

Raj didn't want to forget about what had happened. He wanted to beat their freaking faces in for what they'd gotten Shirayuki into. However, all he wanted to do right now was find her... and if teaming up with the Lions found her faster, then he would do it. He took a deep breath, attempting to say pleasantly, "I guess, sure." The Lions had always worked independently of the king's rules. They helped travelers and fought off bandits, so the king turned a blind eye to the fact that they didn't follow his laws. In the end, Raj wouldn't have been able to change that even if he'd wanted to.

Zen nodded, turning his horse around and approaching the leader of the Lions, the one they'd all been calling Pops. He raised his hand, colliding it in the air with Pops' hand and saying, "then it's a deal."

An hour or so later they found themselves in the forest just outside of a small port town. The entire town was working for the Claw, according to the Lions. It was most likely the best place to begin looking for Shirayuki. Obi had just gotten back from inside the gates and informed them that a man had seen someone fitting Kazuki's description. No one would have suspected Obi of working for royalty. This truly was like a hostage situation. If they tried to pick a fight, either Shirayuki or Kazuki could get hurt, or worse.

The truth was, Raj was beginning to zone out. He was exhausted, and all he could think about was Shirayuki. He put his left hand up against a tree, leaning against it. He was vaguely aware of Mitsuhide shouting, "you want to pretend to be a criminal and get sold to the Claw?!" Raj finally started listening, listening to Kiki explain that they would be less suspicious of a woman and that at least Shirayuki would have a friend to protect her. Mitsuhide was losing his mind - he did _not_ like the idea of sending his partner on to that ship. He listened to Kiki and Mitsuhide argue back and forth, each one trying to convince Zen to pick their side.

"Your highness, I have some information you might want," Mihaya interjected.

"What is it?" Zen asked cautiously, still not trusting the other man. Only a few months back he had also kidnapped Shirayuki in an attempt to sell her red hair. He was so obsessed with becoming rich again, that he'd abandoned all morals. He was despicable. He was only helping now because they were forcing him to.

Mihaya rested his chin in his fingers, thinking for a moment before going on, "their base would be weak right now with the boss and their crew at sea. You remember that my father was a count and that he circulated with all kinds of people?"

"I do," Zen said cautiously.

Mihaya held up his hand, counting down on his fingers, "the pirates, the female leader, the backroom deals." He shrugged, "memories are flooding back about my crooked father and ruined older brother. I think they were in business with the Claw." The man's face said more than he could verbally - he was ashamed of what he'd just remembered. The Lions looked absolutely shocked as Mihaya went on to explain, "in fact, my family was in so deep with them that we were once invited back to the main base of their operations."

"Wait," Zen asked, taking a step forward, "are you saying you remember how to find it...?" Raj could see Zen's heart practically climbing in to his throat. Zen would do absolutely _anything_ to find Shirayuki. Mihaya looked up at Zen, nodding.

"Impressive," Pops exclaimed, "we've been searching for years and I don't think we've come close to locating their mansion."

Mihaya smirked a bit, "I probably wouldn't have mentioned it if the situation wasn't so desperate... but this information _will_ cost you."

Zen looked like he was about ready to march over there and wring Mihaya's neck. This man had done nothing but try to extort money from them since they'd met him. "Why am I surprised, of course you'd say that!" he said, frustration dripping from his voice.

"Mihaya will you _please_ tell us wh-" Mitsuhide began, Mihaya holding up his hand to cut him off.

"This actually doesn't concern Prince Zen _or_ Clarines," Mihaya explained, "the Claw of the Sea's base is in Tanbarun territory." He looked back at Raj and Sakaki, "and that means it concerns _you,_ Prince Raj. This is technically your problem. Are you willing to give me what I want in exchange for the information?"

"Very well," Raj said right away, not even questioning it. He didn't even look like the question had phased him.

Mihaya stared at him in complete and utter shock. "Seriously?!" he yelled, not having expected it to be that easy.

"You're certainly not the first scoundrel to sell information to Tanbarun," Sakaki mused.

Raj crossed his arms, locking eyes with Mihaya, "and I want to save Shirayuki. If in the process you can help us root out a festering scourge on our kingdom, I'd be grateful. Such a gift warrants a handsome reward... right Sakaki?" At this point, he would agree to almost anything to find Shirayuki... but ridding Tanbarun of the Claw of the Sea would most definitely be a bonus. It would save countless lives in the future, and he knew that. Giving Mihaya the money he wanted would be worth it.

"Indeed," the advisor agreed, nodding his head.

Without another word, Kiki walked over to Mitsuhide, handing him her sword and smiling gently, "keep it safe." She knew this was hard for her partner. He'd be worried sick about her the entire time she'd be on that ship.

He took the sword regretfully, saying solemnly, "I will."

Over the next hour they went over their plan meticulously. They would dress Kiki up as a prisoner and take her aboard the Claw's ship in hopes of 'selling' her to them. While on the ship, she would make sure Shirayuki was safe. She would also give Shirayuki the walnut stone necklace that Kihal has left for her. Prince Zen currently had one of Clarines' new messenger birds with him. With the help of the walnut stone whistle and the walnut stone necklace, the bird would be able to keep them versed on the location of the ship. Meanwhile, Prince Zen, Mitsuhide, Obi, Mihaya, and the Lions would head toward the Claw's base to take them out ahead of time. They would be vulnerable without their leader and crew. While they did that, Prince Raj and Sakaki would go to the nearest port town inside of Tanbarun to rally up men and ships to follow the Claw to sea. They would trick the Claw in to retreating to their home base, and they would all corner the Claw at their own base, on all sides and even from the inside out.

Raj Shenazard had to talk to his people. He was terrified. As he'd recently learned from Shirayuki, the good majority of his people were less than happy with him as a prince. Raj did his best to keep face in front of everyone, but Sakaki could see easily how worried the Prince of Tanbarun was. After going over the plan multiple times, they began packing to go to their specific targets. As Raj was heading toward his horse, he heard Zen call out, "Raj!"

Raj froze, turning around to look at Zen. The Second Prince of Clarines smiled confidently at him, "I know you can do this." Zen had been able to tell just how concerned Raj was about speaking to his people. He didn't blame him for being concerned - Raj's people hated him, and Zen didn't blame them for hating him. Hell, Zen wasn't too fond of Raj, himself. However, it was never too late to change that opinion.

Raj blinked, not having expected that. He smiled, nodding and saying solemnly, "let's bring her back together." He bowed, before turning back around and returning to his horse. He struggled for a moment to get back on it, but Sakaki couldn't very well boost him on to his horse in front of all these people like he had earlier. He eventually got up on his horse, nodding to Sakaki and directing his horse toward the port town, as quickly as the animal could take him.

After another hour or so of riding, Sakaki and Raj found themselves at the center of the port town. The guards were about to announce to the people that they were gathering people to chase the Claw, and Raj and Sakaki were waiting underneath the stage. The people had no clue that the prince was actually there, within earshot. They could hear the crowd in front of the stage buzzing, "what? Prince Raj is here? Right now? Why would that idiot prince even come to the port town?" Raj clenched his fists at his sides, beginning to get angry but quickly stopping. He deserved the things they were saying. "That brat is such a pain. You know he's just going to demand a bunch of women and wine," another man called out. There was immediate laughter. Raj wrapped his arms around his waist, looking down at the ground. He couldn't get mad at that either, considering he'd actually done that in the past. That had not been one of his finer moments. Sakaki saw that the prince had most definitely heard their comments, so he slowly walked over to join him, just standing next to him. He hoped his presence would be enough to comfort him, even a bit, since he couldn't hug him right now.

After enough people had gathered, the guards had finally announced that they were going after the Claw of the Sea. After a very long silence, people began gasping and murmuring to each other. Suddenly a man called out, "that's a great story and all, but we have cargo to move!" Now they were yelling all types of things like "that's right, we've got our own work! What the hell is Prince Raj thinking? He has to know he's no match for a pirate!" Raj held his hands up to his ears, trying to drown out the noise. He was feeling extremely sensitive to light and sound right now - he was beginning to get a headache. "Why are they just standing around? We do _not_ have time for this," he grumbled, staring up at Sakaki for a moment before marching off toward the stairs.

"Are you going out there, highness?" Sakaki asked cautiously, "you know they might not take too kindly to orders from you." He didn't want the younger man to get hurt. He knew how raw and ill Raj was feeling.

Raj bit down on his lip, trying to say with confidence, "don't underestimate me." Sakaki smiled, noticing the deliberate echo of what he'd said to the prince earlier. Raj made his way up the steps and on to the stage, noticing right away how the crowd went quiet with shock.

Some of them were whispering to each other, "that's him, that's Prince Raj."

He made it to the center of the stage, looking out at the crowd and immediately noticing how many of them there were. The second thing he noticed was how angry half of them looked. The other half of them looked like, well... they looked like they weren't taking him seriously. Oh God, they hated him. How the hell was he going to pull this off? The longer he stared at the angry faces the more anxious he got, and he started to feel like he might vomit again. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to stabilize himself. Sakaki had followed behind the prince, standing about ten feet away and watching the younger man closely.

Raj was really beginning to question if he could do this. His stomach was burning and he was beginning to feel dizzy. Suddenly Zen's words started playing in his head. 'I know you can do this.' His eyes shot open - maybe he _could_ do this. Zen has never been his biggest fan, so if he thought he could do this, then maybe he could. "Listen, I uh..." he started loudly, stumbling over his words, "I-I mean we, we cannot allow the Claw of the Sea to escape us! So please, I ask you to lend me your strength."

They really didn't look impressed... it was like they could smell his fear. Of course they weren't taking him seriously. He had his arms crossed across his chest, hanging on to his arms nervously. It wasn't exactly a confident posture. Then again, he'd never really given them a reason to take him seriously, either. He had to give them a reason - Shirayuki was depending on it. Still, looking at all of their angry faces, he couldn't help but begin to wonder if he could do this. On top of the disapproving glares in the audience, though, Raj could also feel Sakaki staring a hole in the back of his head. _Sakaki_ thought he could do this. Raj straightened his back, moving his arms down to his sides and snapping his chin up to hold his head up high. He had to get them to take him seriously. The only people that had ever taken him seriously had been Shirayuki and Sakaki. They'd only begun taking him seriously once he began admitting his faults.

Raj took a deep breath, looking out at the crowd and saying, "I know I've never given any of you any reason to take me seriously." He saw at least a few jaws drop, and he could practically feel Sakaki's eyebrows about to fly up and off of his face, even though he was facing away from him. Oh, his father wasn't going to like this. Even if he was ashamed of Raj's previous behavior, admitting fault so publicly and on such a large scale was _not_ something they would normally do. He'd deal with his father later... right now all that mattered was getting Shirayuki back. "I've not taken my role seriously at all, and for that I am sorry. If you'd let me, I'd start changing that _right now."_ He looked around at the crowd, noticing at least a few faces becoming less apprehensive. "The Claw of the Sea has been a scourge on Tanbarun for too long. They have been exploiting our ships, kidnapping our people, and ripping families apart!" he shouted. It was easy for Raj to speak so passionately about this subject, considering one of those kidnapped people was the one person that had shocked him in to his senses. "As the First Prince of Tanbarun, I cannot stand idly by while these mongrels exploit my people! Will you help me?" There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Oh God... he felt like he was going to vomit, again. Just as Raj was about to give up and turn around, one of the groups started cheering. Raj's eyes shot open wider as even more of the groups began cheering, and the people began lining up to sign up for the hunt for the Claw. He stared in shock, not sure what to do or how to respond for a brief moment. He quickly bowed, something he would have never thought to do in front of commoners before... but he was so grateful. His eyes had grown glassy with tears, closing his eyes while bowing to get it under control. He was just unbelievably relieved. Once he was confident that he had it controlled, Raj stood back up straight, turning around and heading back toward Sakaki.

Sakaki smiled proudly at the prince, whispering, "well done, sir," as they made their way back down the stairs. Raj smiled up at him, letting out a happy but watery laugh. He was so damn relieved, and kind of proud of himself. They made their way back to their horses, about to head to the docks. Both Sakaki and Raj climbed up on to their horses, Raj still struggling a bit to get up. "Have you ever been on a ship before, Prince Raj?" Sakaki asked. The older man had helped to raise the Shenazard children for years, and that didn't only include Raj. Sakaki had no memory of the prince having ever been on a ship, but he may have missed it while he was with Rona and Eugena, especially when they were very small.

"Only once when I was a child," Raj explained, a bit embarrassed by his inexperience. "But I have studied them recently!" he said quickly. The prince had been studying very hard for the past month or so.

"That much is good," Sakaki mused, tutting a bit to get his horse going. It didn't take long to get to the docks. Raj got off of his horse, Sakaki soon following. The younger man stared up at the ship for a moment, marveling at how huge it was.

"Shall we board then, highness?" Sakaki suggested, walking up the wooden plank. Raj followed, hopping down in to the ship, looking around for a moment. It was ginormous, and a bit overwhelming. Sakaki entered as well, saying quietly, "highness, would you please follow me?"

Raj blinked, nodding and following Sakaki to the captain's quarters. They went inside and Sakaki closed the door behind them. Raj was slightly surprised by how nice the room was, considering they were on a ship. There was a desk, a gorgeous rug, several cabinets, and a comfortable looking chaise. He supposed it wasn't that odd, after all it _was_ a royal vessel. "I want you to rest while they prepare the ships, Prince Raj," Sakaki instructed.

"Rest?" Raj asked in disbelief, almost whining, "but I should be out there helping!"

Sakaki gave Raj a stern look and the prince immediately shrunk. "Your enthusiasm is wonderful, Raj, but you've had only one hour of sleep in the past day and a half, and you got very ill earlier. These men are depending on you to lead them, so you're going to lay down and sleep, am I understood?"

Raj noticed the deliberate drop of the word 'prince', knowing that it wouldn't end well for him if he kept pushing Sakaki. He shuffled in place awkwardly for a bit, nodding quietly and going over to the chaise to lay down. As he laid down, Sakaki walked over to stand next to him, petting his hair back and praising, "good boy." Raj immediately melted, closing his eyes and leaning his head in to his advisor's hand. Sakaki wouldn't normally be so controlling with the younger man, even with the new relationship they'd come to have. Usually, he would follow the majority of Raj's orders, even the ones he deemed a bit silly. However, right now the prince was working on little to no sleep, an empty stomach, and very raw emotions. He wasn't going to be able to make good judgement calls right now... and so Sakaki would make those calls for him.

He kept carding his fingers through Raj's hair, explaining softly, "I'll stay here while you fall asleep, and then I'll find someone to get you some food." The younger man groaned softly at the idea of eating. "I know, you don't want to," Sakaki said sympathetically, "but you've hardly eaten, and what you _had_ eaten earlier was lost. You need your strength."

"I don't want to," Raj grumbled.

Sakaki kept his voice as firm as possible while still showing compassion for his situation, "I know you don't want to, but you have to."

"Says who?" Raj humphed, curling up on his side and facing away from Sakaki, "I don't _have_ to do anything." The prince was not thinking straightly at all. His exhaustion, hunger and stress kept occasionally pushing him in to a very pompous mood. He had literally _just_ thought that it would be a bad idea to push Sakaki, and here he was, pushing him so brazenly.

When Raj curled up on to his side and said those arrogant words, Sakaki pulled his hand back and landed it firmly on one of his under-curves. No one was going to notice a single smack in a sea of people talking and preparing ship equipment. Raj gasped, yelping and immediately flipping back on to his back, and looking up at Sakaki in shock. The prince still wasn't completely used to being held accountable for his bratty, childish behavior. Sakaki looked him in the eyes sternly, saying in an even voice, "says who? Says _me,_ young man. If you want to act like a spoiled, stubborn little boy, that's fine with me... but you can expect to be a very _sore_ spoiled, stubborn little boy once we return to the castle. _Or,_ you could decide to listen to me when I tell you that you _need_ food to keep your strength up and lead these men. It's your choice, Raj."

Raj swallowed hard, eyes darting away from Sakaki's and settling on his own hands... not knowing what else to look at. He never seemed to be able to fight back when Sakaki scolded him this way. Maybe it was because he knew he deserved it. He cringed when Sakaki called him a spoiled, stubborn little boy. He felt his chest tighten and his face heat up. He bit down on his lip, saying very quietly, "I'll... I'll eat."

Sakaki let out a silent sigh of relief before lowering himself down to take a seat on the edge of the chaise. "Good boy," he praised, wanting to encourage the younger man. "Raj..." Sakaki started gently, needing this to be said, "one day, you're going to be the King of Tanbarun. Moments like this are going to help shape you in to that king. If you want to be a leader of your people, you have to take care of yourself. How can you lead them if you're weak from hunger?" He needed the prince to understand that he had a reason for making him eat. Raj's eyes darted even further away, not able to look at Sakaki. He really had acted like a spoiled brat, just now. He'd been trying so hard not to, too. The advisor could see what was running through Raj's head. "Raj, look at me," Sakaki ordered, albeit gently. It took a moment for the prince to will his eyes up to lock with Sakaki's. The older man said gently, "it's alright to not know how to act right now, kiddo. I know you're exhausted and on edge, and that things like that are going to happen. I might not put up with it, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand, alright?" Raj's shoulders finally relaxed a bit, slowly nodding his head.

"Good," Sakaki smiled softly, reaching out and ruffling Raj's hair a bit.

Raj gave him a slightly annoyed look when he ruffled his hair, though the truth was he actually sort of liked it. He slowly looked up at his advisor and asked softly, "do you have to leave the room?"

Sakaki smiled sadly, "I'm afraid I do. We need to get that food in you, and I also need to know when we'll be leaving so I can wake you." Raj nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Don't worry," Sakaki said, pointing to the door, "I'll stay here while you fall asleep, and when I leave, I'll be standing right outside, in front of that door the entire time. I promise." The prince nodded, seeming to relax a bit at that thought. He didn't usually feel so clingy, but right now, his nerves were completely raw and he wasn't really sure if he could accomplish all of this on his own. He'd hardly ever left his castle and here he was, about to direct a fleet of over a dozen ships. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes again and trying to fall asleep. He struggled at first, but it became a lot easier once Sakaki began carding his fingers through his hair again. The prince soon found himself quickly drifting off to sleep, his body absolutely exhausted.

Two and a half hours later, Raj was awoken with a gentle hand petting his hair back. "Raj," Sakaki said gently, not wanting to jolt him out of sleep too quickly. The prince slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Sakaki with confusion at first before his eyes finally focused. "I've brought you some food," Sakaki said softly. Raj slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the chaise. Sakaki joined him, sitting down next to him. He handed the prince a small plate with a sandwich on it. "It's not exactly what you're used to... it's from one of the nearby shops," Sakaki explained.

The last thing Raj felt like being right now was stuck up. He took the plate, saying sleepily, "thank you." He stared at the sandwich for a moment, absolutely revolted - not because the sandwich was revolting, but because the idea of eating was revolting. He'd gone so long without eating that the hunger was replaced with nausea. He picked the sandwich up, taking a slow bite of it and immediately gagging. Sakaki frowned, reaching his hand up and gently rubbing the younger man's back. Raj finally swallowed the first bite, immediately cringing as a wave of severe nausea washed over him. He tensed up, breathing more quickly for a moment in an effort to calm the awful feeling. After around thirty seconds he looked up at Sakaki and said tiredly, "I don't feel very good."

Sakaki frowned more deeply, continuing to rub his back in large circles. "I know, kiddo," he said quietly, "just take your time. We set sail in about an hour, I woke you up earlier to give you time to process the food." He meant both eating and digesting. He was almost certain the prince would throw up again once they were at sea and he wanted him to actually digest his food before that happened, this time.

Raj was amazed by how quickly they'd gotten so many ships ready. He slowly turned his head to face his food again, staring at it forlornly. He raised it to his mouth, taking another bite and shuddering, involuntarily leaning in toward Sakaki. The older man wrapped his arm around him, pulling him in closely. "You're doing great, Raj," Sakaki praised. He knew that while the nap will have helped in the long run, it was going to make the poor kid miserable in the short run. He had to feel absolutely disgusting.

The prince leaned more heavily on Sakaki when he praised him, raising the sandwich back up to his lips and taking another bite. He cringed... it was disgusting, but not as bad this time. There was no crippling nausea anymore. He sat it back down on the plate, taking a moment to breathe. After a few minutes, the smell of the sandwich finally became somewhat appealing, so he took another bite. Okay, this was becoming less awful. Sakaki smiled as the prince began eating more quickly, finishing the sandwich in just a few more bites. He gave Raj a squeeze, taking the plate from him and setting it on the desk. "Well done," he praised, getting up and helping Raj to lay back down. "Try to rest some more," he instructed.

Raj wanted to argue, just for the sake of arguing, but he was so damn tired. After sleeping for two hours or so, refusing to sleep some more was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He allowed himself to be laid down, looking up at Sakaki and asking, "do you have to go, this time?"

Sakaki sat back down on the edge of the chaise, "not if you want me to stay. They said they'd knock on the door when they were ready."

When Sakaki said he'd stay if Raj wanted him to, Raj's hand darted out and hung on to Sakaki's cloak. The prince's eyes were already closed, but he was hanging on for dear life to the older man. "It's alright," the advisor said, "I'll stay... just get some more sleep, now." Raj drifted off almost the moment he'd heard the words 'I'll stay.' Sakaki smiled just a bit, turning in his seat to face the prince and petting his hair back just a few times. He got comfortable, preparing to wait a while more.

Around forty-five minutes later, two loud knocks came at the door. Sakaki reached out and gently patted Raj's shoulder. "Raj," he said gently, "it's time to wake up now."

The prince groaned a bit as he came to, opening his eyes and looking around the room clumsily for a moment. Oh God, he was exhausted. He had to go find Shirayuki, though. He didn't hesitate, sitting up on the chaise and saying in a rather burnt-out voice, "lets go."

Sakaki stood up, reaching a hand out to help the younger man stand up. Raj took his hand, allowing his advisor to help him to his feet. Sakaki looked the prince over for a moment, reaching out and gently fixing his hair. His hair had shifted while he'd slept, and Sakaki ruffling it earlier hadn't helped, either. Raj let him fix his hair, wanting to look as normal as possible when he exited the room. Sakaki finished adjusting his hair, going to the door and opening it for Raj, motioning for him to go ahead. The prince took a deep breath, steadying himself before walking out the door and on to the deck. It took a short moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. He squinted a bit, seeing the crew run to their stations when they saw him.

Raj looked behind him just once to make sure Sakaki was there. As always, the older man was right behind him, watching silently. The truth was, Sakaki was on high alert. They were on a ship with multiple people that the prince had potentially hurt in the past. Any one of them could be planning something. He hated to think of these people that were helping them in such a horrible way, but Sakaki's first priority was always Raj.

Raj took a step forward, and then another and another, heading to the center of the deck. "Good afternoon, gentlemen!" he called out, making sure he was loud enough to be heard by all of them, "thank you for choosing to accompany me! We're setting out to the north to pursue the Claw of the Sea. When you are ready, set sail!" Raj may have been in charge of this mission, but he was no sailor. One of the professionals stepped up, now, beginning to shout orders to the crew. The crew got straight to work, slowly raising the anchor and beginning to separate from the dock.

As the ship began moving, Raj made his way up and on to the forecastle deck. Sakaki was close behind, watching how Raj struggled to walk with the ship's movements. He didn't reach out to help him, though, knowing that Raj had to save face in front of the others, and also knowing that it was important that the younger man learn to do this on his own. Raj hung on to the edge, steadying his footing. They knew that this could take a good while. They had no way of knowing when the Claw had left their port, so it could take hours to find them. It was time to get comfortable.

Around an hour in to the search, Raj's stomach was beginning to disagree with the ground that was moving below him. Sakaki noticed how the younger man's face was going pale and that his stance was drooping. "Are you feeling seasick, sir?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Raj denied, hanging on tighter to the edge of the ship. As a gust of wind hit the ship Raj's head spun, making the nausea that much worse.

Sakaki walked up beside him, saying as casually as possible, "it's alright if you're seasick, Prince Raj. No one's judging you for it."

Raj was about to argue when another gust of wind came. His head span, body a confused mix of hot and cold. This had become a too familiar feeling, today. This wasn't like the nausea from before... no amount of breathing was helping. Motion sickness had its own set of troubles. He closed his eyes, trying to stop the spinning. It was futile - the prince immediately leaned over the side of the ship, heaving harshly and retching the contents of his stomach in to the sea. Sakaki frowned, walking over and standing as close to him as society would allow. He looked behind himself to see if anyone was within earshot, before turning back to face Raj. "It's alright, highness," he crooned quietly, "I'm right here. I promise, it'll pass." He wished he could at least put his hand on his back. He watched as the prince vomited, happy, at least to see that the good majority of his dinner had digested.

Raj heaved harder - this time was different, it didn't come in waves. It was all coming fast and hard. His body shook hard with each heave, and his eyes watered, though he didn't cry. After what felt like a very long time, his stomach finally calmed down enough to stop vomiting. He shakily pulled himself away from the side of the ship, looking up at Sakaki with exhausted eyes for a short moment. Sakaki reached under his cloak and in to his pocket, pulling out another handkerchief and handing it to the prince. Raj reached a shaky hand out, taking the handkerchief and beginning to clean his face off. He began to wonder just how many handkerchiefs Sakaki had. Once Raj was done cleaning his nose and mouth, Sakaki reached out to take it back. Raj hadn't planned on giving it back until later, figuring he should wash it first. When he wasn't having a meltdown, he actually bothered to think about things like that. It seemed that Sakaki didn't care, though. "Thank you," the prince said quietly, allowing Sakaki to take the handkerchief.

Another two hours or so passed, and there were a few close calls with Raj's nausea, but he held it together. Suddenly, the crewman in the crow's nest cried out, "your highness!"

Raj jumped a bit, turning around, looking up at him and calling, "yes, what is it?"

"Look, over there!" he shouted, pointing out to sea.

The prince took out his scope and focused on what the man had pointed at, seeing a ship. He immediately noticed the gorgeous blue bird from Clarines circling the ship in question. "Sakaki, that's the one!" Raj exclaimed.

"Yes sir," Sakaki responded, getting ready for what would most likely be an exhausting chase. He looked over at the younger man, watching him slowly lower his scope and scowl at the ship angrily.

"Prince Raj!" another man approached him, "we have a confirmed sighting of Shirayuki aboard the Claw's vessel."

Raj immediately seemed to perk up. "Is she alright?" he asked, eager to know the answer.

"Appears to be," the man answered, and Raj could feel an immediate wave of relief wash over him. He turned back to face the Claw of the Sea's ship, staring a nasty hole through it. Their fleet began approaching the Claw's ship - it was slow and deliberate. They wanted them to see them coming. It was part of the plan.

"So Shirayuki _and_ Kiki, as well as the boy, Kazuki..." Sakaki started, assessing the situation, "they're all being held as prisoners aboard _that_ ship?"

Raj didn't even seem to notice his advisor's question. "Sakaki," he suddenly murmured.

Sakaki looked Raj over, wondering what had him so deep in thought, "sir?"

"I've always considered myself to be a pitiful prince," Raj repeated what he'd said earlier that day. Suddenly his voice got dangerously low and serious, "but now that I'm so _mad_... I don't feel all that pitiful anymore." Sakaki stared at the prince with a mixed look of shock and pride. Coming face to face with the people that were holding Shirayuki against her will had given the younger man a second wind. He didn't look exhausted at all, in fact he looked almost ready to jump off the ship, swim over there and stab one of them in the throat.

They finally came within shouting distance of the ship. Before Sakaki could respond to Raj's statement, the younger man began shouting, "pirates! Can you hear me? I am the First Prince of Tanbarun, Raj Shenazard! The redheaded girl you have taken is _special!"_ Raj's voice was getting more and more angry, "in Tanbarun she is held in high regard! The only person to hold the title 'Friend of the Crown!' Understand that we will _not_ allow you to get away from us!"

Suddenly, the enemy ship turned themselves around and began heading west. There was no way the Claw would be able to take on all of the ships that Raj had collected. Raj was relieved when they began heading west. Perfect. Right where they wanted them to go! The Claw's ship was headed right toward Prince Zen, Mitsuhide, Obi, and the Lions.

"Friend of the Crown?" Sakaki asked, amusement in his voice, "that's the first I've heard of such a title. And when was _this_ decided?"

"Just now in fact!" Raj said proudly, turning around to face him. He smiled, putting his hands on his hips and saying, "I thought it would make them nervous!" Sakaki blinked, realizing how damn smart that was. He smiled proudly at the prince for thinking so quickly on his feet. Raj noticed the proud look, blushing. When not having an emotional breakdown, Raj wasn't exactly sure how to handle that look. He stumbled for his words, scratching at his face a bit and looking away, "u-uh... I mean, it's true though." He slowly looked back up at his advisor, wondering what he would say.

Sakaki kept that same stupid, proud grin on his face. "Well congratulations, your highness," he said, meaning every word of that.

Raj actually smiled just a bit, but it was short lasting. As they followed the Claw to their destination, he suddenly heard one of the men shouting, "hey, what's that?" Raj turned to the front of the ship, staring at the now extremely turbulent waters not far in front of their ship. There were multiple nasty undercurrents. They tried to stop the ship in time, but it was a very large object moving at a very fast speed. "It's too late!" someone cried out as the ship began colliding with the choppy water.

Sakaki immediately grabbed Raj's upper arm, pulling him away from the side of the ship and off of the forecastle. Raj gasped in surprise but followed his advisor, figuring if he was grabbing him like this in front of others that his life must be in immediate danger. That made his heart climb in to his throat, this was terrifying. Every step they took was more and more shaky, the ship rocking in a violent fashion. Sakaki got them on to the main deck, quickly tucking the younger man next to the stair case and saying firmly, "hang on _tightly_ , highness." Raj looked up at him with eyes that said what he couldn't say out loud with all of these people here - he was terrified. Sakaki wished he could take the time to comfort the younger man, but the ship was beginning to rock more violently. Sakaki threw himself on to the other side of the stairs, wedging himself up against them to keep his body stationary.

"Will someone cut the rudder?" The man that had been in charge of the crew began shouting, "NOW, as in RIGHT NOW! We're getting sucked in!" The crew was scrambling all over the ship, trying to keep it in place.

"It's no use your highness, we can't move in any closer!" another man called out.

"We _can't?_ Tell me why!" Raj shouted out, despite his fear. All he could think about was getting to Shirayuki, even with the ship rocking around like this. The Claw was getting away, and they were heading for Zen without him. They needed him to trap the Claw.

"It's the Blue Vortex. A cluster of maelstroms that randomly appears in Tanbarun's seas," Sakaki shouted, the waves getting louder and louder. Raj's eyes widened - he remembered reading about the Blue Vortex just a few weeks ago. "Unless one knows the currents inside and out, it's impossible to traverse. If we simply plunged in, the ship would be smashed to splinters!" Sakaki explained, leaning harder in to the stairs to try to stay in place. Raj hung on tighter to the stairs, frowning deeply and falling deep in to thought.

After only a few minutes of clinging on to the staircase, Raj was getting anxious to follow after the Claw's ship. He couldn't let them slip away with Shirayuki. "Are we gonna make it? Because this ship sure is rocking a lot!"

"Didn't I say we shouldn't just plunge in?" Sakaki asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the prince was so eager to jump right in to a sea of maelstroms. The same prince that had been calling himself a coward just earlier that day.

"Oh shut up!" Raj said, almost immediately realizing what he'd just said and shrinking a bit. Sakaki gave him a short, firm look from across the staircase, but left it at that. He knew they were in a terrifying situation and he wasn't expecting Raj to behave perfectly. Raj tried to explain, "I know you saw it too, that stupid pirate lady _sneered_ at me! How can a person look that arrogant while they're retreating?" About half way through that sentence, Raj began to notice that Sakaki was just kind of staring at nothing. "Are you even listening Sakaki?!" he asked, beginning to sound a bit panicked.

"Sire, I just remembered..." Sakaki mused, remembering something he'd once read in the castle's never ending library. "The blue vortex will shift. It changes direction every ten seconds. If we go with the current instead of against it, then _maybe..._ " he suggested, not even knowing for sure that it would work.

"Every ten seconds?" Raj asked softly, thinking to himself for a moment before asking, "so any idea when we should start counting for the next shift change?"

"No," Sakaki said, sighing. This was _not_ going to be easy.

"Right..." Raj murmured, getting up off of the deck and to his feet. He threw himself forward to hang on to the banister, shouting, "listen up men! Move the rudder left and right! That should get us past this vortex to calm waters!"

"Yes sir!" The crew called out, beginning to do as he said. "Left!" the man in charge of the crew shouted, and they shouted it right back. They repeated the same thing with the right.

Raj stared in amazement as it actually began to work. "Yes..." he murmured under his breath, feeling unbelievably relieved.

Sakaki got to his feet and shakily walked across the deck to join him, also hanging on to the banister. "You were just making random things up, weren't you prince?" he asked, a completely serious look on his face.

"At times like this it's sink or swim," Raj explained. The ship hit a particularly rough patch and Raj ran to the side of the boat again. Sakaki followed him, actually hanging on to the prince's waist this time. No one would question it now, they were in such harsh waters that the prince could fall overboard if Sakaki didn't hang on to him. Raj heaved, throwing up for the nth time that day.

Sakaki frowned, squeezing Raj's waist and saying, "you've done amazingly well, highness." He really was proud of the younger man.

Raj stood up straight, thinking he was done. "Don't underestimate..." he went pale, "Tanbarun." He leaned back over the edge and heaved again, vomiting just once more. Sakaki smiled at how the prince immediately gave the credit to the crew. He squeezed his waist, just letting him finish. He finished vomiting, wiping his mouth with his hand this time... he was not going to ask Sakaki for yet another handkerchief. He finally straightened himself out, turning around to face the crew.

As they traversed the field of maelstroms, the ship was tossed about even more severely. Raj flew backward, almost flying overboard. He yelped, upper half of his body flying right over the side. Sakaki shot his arms out, catching the prince and setting him back on his feet. "Are you alright, your highness?" he asked. Sakaki's heart had dropped in to his stomach when the prince almost flew overboard. He could feel his hands shaking as he stabilized Raj's balance.

Raj's heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, that had scared him so badly. He took a deep breath, letting Sakaki stabilize him before saying quietly, "I'm fine, thank you." He headed straight for the forecastle. Sakaki wasn't far behind him, both of them struggling to walk on the shaky ground. They eventually made it, clinging on to the side of the ship. Raj refused to hide like a coward while the crew members worked their asses of to get them through this mine field of maelstroms. He was going to be at the very front of the ship, facing this head on. Sakaki knew exactly why Raj was doing this, and he couldn't have been more proud, and also terrified.

They clung tighter to the side of the ship, and Raj let out a short shout of surprise when he heard the sails rip and watched wooden debris from the ship fly around them. Raj's eyes widened when he saw how close they were to escaping the maelstroms. "We're nearly there, men!" Raj shouted, "we're so close, keep going!"

The crew shouted and cheered, pushing their way through the last small section of the turbulent waters. Raj hung on tightly to the side of the ship, closing his eyes tightly as they passed the last bit of danger. When they hit calm water, Raj slumped over for just a short moment, catching his breath. After a few short moments the prince stood back up, smiling and crossing his arms over his chest. He couldn't believe that had actually worked.

"We did it, we caught up with them, highness," Sakaki exclaimed.

Raj grinned, saying tiredly but confidently, "yes we did." Sakaki could see how happy and relieved the prince was, but he could also see how exhausted and ill he felt. The younger man's face had grown extremely pale, and dark circles were now forming under his eyes. Raj took a deep breath, turning around and addressing the crew. "Thank you for your hard work! Without all of you we would have _never_ survived!" he shouted, meaning every word. "However, I'm afraid I must ask for your help again," Raj exclaimed, turning and pointing at the cave the Claw's ship had escaped to. He snapped his fingers, like he often did when he felt confident, "forward ho brave gentlemen! Destroy the pirate ship and cut off their escape route at once!"

The crew cheered - these men had grown more than sick and tired of the Claw controlling their trade routes and threatening their loved ones. They quickly steered toward the cave at top speeds, slipping inside and heading right for the pirates' ship. They were going to ram it. They could see crew from the Claw's ship frantically jumping off of the ship in anticipation. "Do not falter!" Raj cried out, hanging on to the ship and bracing for impact. Sakaki was also preparing himself, thinking of all of the different things that could fall and possibly hurt Raj. Finally, their ship rammed in to the side of the Claw's vessel, quickly reducing a good chunk of it to splinters. As the ship impacted, Raj couldn't hang on any longer and he fell backward, landing sprawled out on his back, on the deck. Just as he landed and looked up, his eyes widened - the figurehead from their ship had broken off and was flying right toward him. There wasn't even any time to try to move. The prince gasped, covering his face with his arms and trying to turn away. Sakaki immediately threw himself in front of Raj, sword already unsheathed. He used all of his strength to extend his sword forward, crashing in to the figurehead and sending it flying. The older man looked down at Raj worriedly, asking, "are you alright, prince?"

Raj stared up in shock at Sakaki for a moment. He'd practically planned his own funeral in that half of a second, but here he was in one piece. He felt like throwing up from the rush of adrenaline, but he smiled up at Sakaki and laughed lightly from relief. "Of course I am," he said casually, before admitting, "just a little terrified." Sakaki smiled approvingly at the prince, reaching down and helping him up to his feet.

Just as he got up, he heard the familiar voice of Kiki shouting, "you two, get inside!" He climbed down clumsily on to the Claw's ship to get a better view, looking on in horror as the Claw's leader threw the blunt end of her kusarigama and trapped Shirayuki in its chains.

"Shirayuki!" Kiki shouted, breaking her wrists free rather easily from their bonds and slamming her body in to one of her 'captors' to try to go to Shirayuki's aid.

Suddenly another familiar voice chimed in, "Kiki!" Kiki's sword was tossed right in to her hands, and she quickly slammed its handle right in to the gut of the other man that was by her. Another man charged at her, but Mitsuhide jumped down and swiftly kicked him in the face. Raj stared in horror as he saw the Claw's leader, Umihebi, holding the very sharp end of her kusarigama to Shirayuki's throat. He was about to jump down when finally, he saw Zen step out from the shadows. Oh, thank God.

"Stay on the ship, men!" Raj shouted back to his own ship, "you have done what we have set out to do - we have destroyed the Claw's ship! I know you must want justice, but I promise you justice will be done if you just _wait!"_ He didn't want his people to be in any more danger than they'd already been in. Most of them weren't swordsmen, they were fishermen. He was beyond relieved when they actually listened to him. Maybe he had gained some respect from them.

He looked back down just in time to see one of Obi's throwing daggers fly down from the ceiling, distracting Umihebi just long enough for Shirayuki to bite Umihebi's forearm. He gasped as Umihebi reared the large, blunt end of her weapon back and smacked Shirayuki to the ground with it. That's when he saw Obi fall from the ceiling, landing confidently on both feet between Shirayuki and Umihebi. Raj sighed in relief when he saw Zen rush to her aid, helping her up and taking her far away from the horrible bitch that had taken her.

As the Claw was about to chase them, the Lions swooped in. Pops landed a swift punch to one of their faces, knocking them out cold. "What's wrong Umihebi?" Pops asked, "you look rather flustered. Are you worried about your castle on the other side of this cave? Don't be, we already paid it a visit." Raj had barely heard that, but when he did it was like a huge weight was lifted off of his chest. That meant that the passageway he had just watched Zen take Shirayuki and Kazuki to was safe. Shirayuki was safe.

It was like nothing mattered for the next few moments. Raj stood there and watched as the Lions and Zen's crew quickly surrounded the Claw. The pirates had never had a chance, really. They were drastically outnumbered, and it took them less than two minutes to be subdued. It all ended with Umihebi casting her kusarigama out to slice in to Pops. He ducked back just in time, reaching out and grabbing ahold of the chain. "DAMN YOU!" she shrieked, trying to yank back on her weapon, but it wasn't budging. It was over.

Raj could have cried from relief, but instead he shouted, "all clear!" to his men, running forward and climbing down and off of the ship. Sakaki was quick to follow behind him. Even if the Claw was subdued, he had no intention of letting Raj down there with them without him.

About half way down the side of the ship, Raj lost his ability to hang on to the ropes, falling down to the ground and landing hard. "Prince Raj!" Sakaki shouted, immediately letting go and jumping down after him... only he landed on his feet. Raj groaned a bit, sitting up slowly and trying to get up. He got up to his feet, swaying back and forth for a moment before almost falling. Sakaki caught the younger man, frowning and propping him up against the ship. He went to stand in front of Raj, crouching down and putting both arms behind him. He was offering to carry Raj on his back.

"Sakaki," Raj said quietly, unsure about this.

Sakaki looked back at him, saying just as quietly, "it's alright, they'll just assume I'm carrying you because you injured your leg in the fall. It's our job to round the Claw up and take them back to the prison." They didn't need to know that the prince's exhausted body had finally just given out - it had no strength left. Raj sighed, nodding. He took one step forward, muscles in his legs quivering. He positioned himself over Sakaki's back, and the older man immediately stood back up, hooking his arms under Raj's legs to keep him supported. Raj held on tightly to Sakaki's shoulders as he stood so he wouldn't fall. The advisor headed toward the mess of people, and Raj began shouting orders to his officers. "Bind them, and do it well!" the prince called out, "we can't have them escaping during transit!"

"Yes sir!" they called out, rushing to grab the ropes. It looked like Sakaki was right, they all thought he'd injured his leg. Raj watched as they made sure to tie both their upper arms and their wrists, feeling a huge wave of relief wash over him when he saw them finish Umihebi's binds.

Raj pointed to a small group, saying, "you, check upstairs for any stragglers. I'm sure Prince Zen's people got them all, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious." The officers immediately ran up the stairs to check the small castle over for more people. The younger man pointed to another group... some of the stronger men, "meet up with Prince Zen and his people out front. I'd like you to accompany them back to Tanbarun." They bowed to the prince, turning and heading upstairs to do as they were told. Raj looked back at the men on the ship, also thinking about the fleet that was still left behind the Blue Vortex. He had one more thing to do. He pointed to the many crates surrounding the walls, ordering, "make sure you collect all of the food, clothing and tools! I want it given to the people of the port town we set sail from." He could hear the men on the boat cheering. He felt his face heat up, not used to people cheering for him like this.

Sakaki smiled, squeezing his arms tighter around the prince's legs for a short moment and saying, "phenomenal idea, your highness."

Raj blushed even deeper, saying under his breath, "it's only right. They should be paid for their time." Sakaki smiled, nodding and continuing to carry the prince around to different parts of the cave, letting him give orders to his officers. Within an hour they had finished collecting the crates and the members of the Claw. They finally made their way up the stairs and out of the humble castle. When they got outside, Raj sighed a bit.

"Something the matter, sir?" Sakaki asked.

Raj shook his head, "it's nothing. I just wish I could have spoken to Shirayuki before they left."

"Don't worry, we'll see them tomorrow, highness," Sakaki reminded him.

Raj nodded, "yes." He looked back at his officers, "are we all prepared to head back to the castle?"

When the officers gave the affirmative, Sakaki carried Raj to his horse. "Do you think you can sit up on the horse, sire?" he asked, concerned. Luckily Zen and his people had left them these horses for the trek home.

"I think so, yes..." Raj said quietly, "I think it's just my legs." Sakaki found that doubtful - he was sure his entire body was fatigued.

"I think it would be better if you rode on my horse with me," Sakaki suggested, sounding very serious.

Raj was about to argue, but then he felt a nasty pain climb up his back and to his neck - now the idea of supporting his own torso sounded just awful. He let out a loud huff, saying quietly, "alright." At least this way the officers had one more horse to get home.

Sakaki smiled, calling an officer over and pointing to one of the horses. "Please take this horse back to the castle. I must accompany the prince due to his injury," he explained. The officer nodded, taking the reigns and leading the horse over to the others. Sakaki headed back toward their horse, slowly crouching to the ground to let Raj off of his back. It took the prince a moment to get his footing, swaying side to side for a moment. The advisor wedged his foot in to the stirrup, swinging himself up and on to the horse. He reached a hand down for Raj, and the prince took it, allowing Sakaki to help him up on to the horse. It was honestly a bit of a struggle, but they achieved their goal.

Sakaki made sure to begin heading home a few minutes before the rest, wanting to be decently ahead of the group so Raj could say and do anything he felt he needed to. After riding for a short while, the prince leaned forward and rested his head against Sakaki's back. "Is your back okay?" Raj asked, "you carried me for a long time."

The advisor smiled softly - he was sure the prince was physically miserable, and here he was worrying about _him._ "I'm fine, kiddo," Sakaki promised, "don't worry about me."

There was another long pause, and Raj said softly, "Sakaki."

"Mm?" Sakaki asked, feeling the prince hang on tighter to his waist for a moment.

Raj took a deep breath, finally saying, "thank you. I would have never survived today without you..."

"Nonsense," Sakaki immediately said, looking back at the younger man for a short moment and reminding him, "don't underestimate yourself."

Raj blinked, not having expected that response. He hung on tighter, thinking for a moment and saying quietly, "still, I'm... I'm glad you were there."

"Always, Prince Raj," Sakaki promised, "that will never change." He felt Raj finally relax his hold on his waist, and felt him nuzzle in to his back a bit. He wouldn't be surprised if the prince was currently battling his urge to sleep. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop at an inn because of the prisoners. "Don't worry, highness," Sakaki murmured, "only a few hours, and then we can get you to bed." Raj didn't even respond, beginning to zone out. Without the adrenaline of searching for Shirayuki, his body was shutting down very quickly.

It took around four hours for them to get back home to the castle. It would have usually taken less time, but it was slow moving with the cart of prisoners. Raj and Sakaki made sure the Claw was safely behind bars before heading inside the castle. By the time they'd arrived, it was very late... around one'o'clock in the morning. Sakaki was carrying the prince on his back again, going up to the bedroom door and struggling to open it for a moment. He eventually got it open, going inside and shutting the door with his foot. He went over to Raj's bed and stood next to it, turning so his back was to the bed and taking a seat. Once they were sitting, Raj let go of Sakaki's shoulders and Sakaki let go of the prince's legs, standing back up.

Raj almost immediately collapsed back on to the bed as Sakaki went over to the armoire to search for some pajamas for the prince. When he turned back around with the pajamas, the younger man was already asleep, still where Sakaki had left him. Sakaki smiled softly, going over to the bed and gently shaking Raj's shoulder. "Kiddo, wake up," the older man said softly.

The prince whimpered, groaning and opening his eyes. "I want to sleep," he whined.

"I know you do, buddy, but you need to change in to these," Sakaki said, holding up his pajamas. "You've been wearing those clothes in the forest _and_ on the ship," Sakaki explained, "they're sweaty, dirty, and all around not comfortable to sleep in. Now, come on, sit up for me."

Raj groaned, sitting up slowly and staring at the pajamas. Sakaki handed them over to the prince, saying softly, "I'll be right outside, I'll be back in a few minutes." Raj really didn't want Sakaki to go, but he also had no plans on changing in front of him, so he nodded. Sakaki headed outside, and Raj stood up, beginning to very slowly change. Every move was excruciating and exhausting. He slowly undid his scarf, taking it off and setting it on his dresser. He unfastened his cape, setting it on the dresser as well before lifting his vest over his head. Oh _God,_ why were there so many layers? He groaned in frustration, fumbling with his buttons on his blouse and ripping it off, unceremoniously dropping it to the floor. He was done being proper. He undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants and quickly shimmied them off, groaning louder when he realized the pants were caught on the boots that he'd forgotten to take off. "Aaaagh!" he shouted frustratedly, kicking the boots off and finally kicking his pants off along with them. Oh thank God, he was almost done. He quickly slipped his pajama pants on, and then slowly put both arms through the arms of his top, clumsily buttoning it up. He stumbled back to his bad, collapsing down on to it.

After Sakaki gave the prince a decent amount of time to redress and then some, he finally came back in to the room. He looked down at the bed, chuckling a bit at how Raj was laying. He'd fallen on to the bed, but he was laying on it length wise. Well, he couldn't leave him like this. "Highness," Sakaki said gently, petting his hair back, "wake up, we need to get you in to bed."

The prince groaned, not wanting to move. "I am in bed," Raj murmured, covering his eyes with his arm and trying to fall back to sleep.

Sakaki tried not to laugh, trying to pull Raj up to a sitting position, "we need to get you under the covers."

"I'm fine without the covers," Raj tried, falling back on to the bed. He whimpered a bit, "at least then I won't have to move." The prince had never been so fatigued in his entire life.

Sakaki sighed, staring at the younger man for a moment. "Alright, lets get you to bed," he said, pulling back the covers just enough. It was hard to do with Raj laying on the bed. He leaned over, scooping the prince up and in to his arms, one arm behind his shoulders and the other under his knees. Raj gasped a bit, half asleep, eyes flying open for just a moment in surprise. When he saw that it was Sakaki his eyes fluttered shut again, trusting the older man to get him where he needed to be. Sakaki carefully laid the prince down in the correct part of his bed, gently pulling some of the covers out from under his legs afterward. He pulled the covers up and over the younger man, laying them just below his chin. Sakaki sat down on the side of the bed, at the head of the bed. He had no intention of leaving the prince until he was completely sure he was asleep. Raj melted under the blankets, definitely enjoying how it felt. Sometimes, nothing beat laying down in your own bed.

Raj rolled over on to his side, opening his eyes the slightest bit and looking up at Sakaki. Sakaki reached out and carded his fingers through his hair, murmuring, "you did great today, kiddo... now, it's time to get some sleep." Raj would have been smiling so brightly right now if he wasn't so tired - even before the past day's events, Raj had always secretly loved when Sakaki praised him. He supposed that it probably wasn't all that secret to Sakaki anymore. Raj looked up at his advisor for a moment, just thinking. He took a deep breath, collecting all of his strength together and slowly shifting his upper half over toward Sakaki. He very slowly moved his head on to Sakaki's lap, trying to move slowly enough for the older man to move or say something if he was uncomfortable. Raj was immediately relieved when his advisor allowed him to lay his head down and began carding his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and closing his eyes. He was quickly beginning to drift, just focusing on Sakaki's fingers in his hair.

Sakaki watched as the prince began to drift off on his lap. He smiled when he realized that it had only been two or three minutes and that Raj was already out _cold._ He stayed with the younger man for a while longer, knowing that it's what Raj would want. He gave it another ten minutes, just petting his hair and thinking. He slid out from underneath Raj's head, very carefully. He probably didn't have to be so careful - the prince was completely out, and likely would be for many hours. Sakaki smiled, gently moving the younger man's head back to the pillow. He fixed the covers around Raj, petting his hair for a moment before finally heading to the door. He very carefully turned the handle, not wanting to wake Raj up. The prince slept right through it, and Sakaki slipped out of the room.

Around ten hours later, Raj finally began stirring. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting a bit as his eyes adjusted to the light. He groaned a bit, stretching out and slowly peeling the covers off of himself. He slowly sat up, wincing as he did - his muscles ached horribly. To be fair, he _had_ been on a ship that had crashed in to another ship. He slowly made his way to the dresser, taking a good ten minutes to change in to his clothes for the day. It was an excruciating process, but he eventually finished. He picked up his hairbrush, slowly running it through his hair and dropping it back on to the dresser. He stretched one more time, his tense muscles straining - it hurt, but it felt good at the same time.

The prince went to his door, opening it and heading out in to his study. He looked to his left, blinking when he saw Sakaki standing there. "Good morning, sir," Sakaki greeted him, "how did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you," Raj said, "to be honest with you, I don't really remember getting in to bed last night."

Sakaki chuckled, "that doesn't really surprise me - you were exhausted."

"Sakaki," Raj said, looking worriedly at the older man.

The advisor wondered why the prince looked so concerned, "yes your highness?"

"You haven't been standing there long, have you?" Raj asked.

The older man smiled, Raj had actually been worried about him. Honestly, seeing the prince worried about people other than himself was still a relatively new development... the first instance in a very long time was only a few months back. "No, Prince Raj," he assured him, "I've only been here an hour, maybe two. Don't worry yourself, I slept in my bed, not in front of your door."

Raj looked like he was relieved by that. The prince knew that Sakaki would, at times, push himself too far when it came to Raj's wellbeing. Raj knew that he wasn't the only one that had been on that ship... he knew Sakaki had to be very sore as well. "Good," Raj exclaimed, brow furrowing for a moment before asking, "is Shirayuki returning tonight?"

"She is, highness" Sakaki nodded, "in fact your father is throwing another ball, tonight. It seems he's pleased that you've found her."

Raj blinked, looking shocked, "he... he is?" He looked like he almost didn't believe him.

"Indeed," Sakaki said, smiling when he saw the look on the younger man's face. Raj had never really seen his father go out of his way to do something nice for him. Or perhaps he was doing this to ensure their kingdom's relationship with Clarines. Either way, Raj was ecstatic that the ball was going to be tonight.

A smile slowly crept across Raj's face, and he excitedly ran back in to his room. "I need to prepare an outfit for tonight," he exclaimed.

Sakaki grinned, asking, "don't you already have one prepared from the night of the original ball, sir?" Raj couldn't be more excited to see Shirayuki, again.

Raj stopped in his tracks, frowning, "oh, I suppose you're right."

"She should be back very soon, you know," Sakaki said, hoping that would perk the prince up a bit.

Raj blinked, looking panicked for a moment and saying, "she... she what?" He scrambled out in to his study, "I should be preparing to welcome her back!"

"Calm down, your highness," Sakaki soothed, following behind him, "you don't need to prepare for anything. Shirayuki will just be happy to see you."

Raj looked over at Sakaki worriedly, "you don't think she'll be angry with me?"

"Angry? Highness," Sakaki sighed, guiding Raj over to the couch and sitting him down. He sat down next to him, insisting, "Shirayuki is an intelligent young lady... she wouldn't blame what had happened on you, or anyone here for that matter."

Raj stared at Sakaki for a moment, really studying his face, wanting to know if he meant that. When he could find no lies in his face, he relaxed a bit, hesitantly murmuring, "alright." He still wasn't sure if he completely believed him... but he would try.

"Until she arrives, just try to take it easy... maybe have some breakfast," Sakaki suggested, "I'm sure you're sore and tired from yesterday." This time it really was just a suggestion. Now that Raj had gotten a decent night's sleep, Sakaki felt like he could rely on Raj's judgement.

Raj thought about it for a moment, still feeling a bit sick. Considering he'd vomited one of his two meals yesterday, he'd only really had one meal all day. His blood sugar was still low and the idea of eating sounded awful. Still, though... he knew he'd only get sicker and sicker until he ate something. It was a lot easier to be logical about this situation now that he knew Shirayuki was safe, and now that he'd gotten sleep. "Very well," the prince agreed, looking up at Sakaki and amending, "but... something light. I'm still not feeling so well."

"Yes sir," Sakaki said, getting up and heading out of the study. While his advisor went to find him a maid to get him some food, Raj tried to relax back in to the couch. Even with ten hours of sleep, he was exhausted. He supposed he would be for a couple days. It wasn't long before Sakaki returned, sitting down on the couch opposite of the prince. "They'll bring you something in a few minutes," he informed him.

Raj nodded, saying quietly, "thank you." He was glad Sakaki had convinced him to relax, because now that he was sitting, he was quickly fading in to minor exhaustion.

Within a few minutes, a maid entered the room. She nervously brought a large platter of fruit to the coffee table between the couches, setting it down. "Here... here you are, your highness," she stuttered, looking like she really didn't want to be there.

Raj wondered why she looked so damn worried. He searched her face for a moment, eyes widening as he realized who she was. This particular maid had suffered Raj's previously disgusting attitude before. He had blown up so badly on her once before, that the older, more experienced maids had ended up taking over her duties, afterward. He'd even tried to have her fired, but Sakaki had talked him out of it. He supposed that ever since the current staff had seen a change in him, they'd decided to put her back on her original shift. The young woman noticed the prince staring at her strangely, asking uncomfortably, "h-highness?"

The prince finally snapped out of it, quickly stuttering out, "o-oh, thank you!" She nodded, bowing for a moment before quickly turning and heading for the door.

"Wait, miss," Raj called out.

She froze, looking like she wanted to leave the room rather badly. She turned around, looking cautiously at Raj while also trying to look professional. "Yes, your highness?" she asked.

He stared at her for a while longer, trying to build up enough courage to speak. He looked at Sakaki for a moment, and his advisor gave him an encouraging nod. He took a deep breath, finally spitting out quickly, "I'm sorry."

The maid blinked, looking at him in confusion for a moment, "I... what did you say, sir?"

"I... I said I'm sorry," Raj said quietly, hating that he had to say it twice, "for what happened before."

She blinked, absolutely shocked. This time it was the maid that looked over to Sakaki for affirmation. He nodded, trying to let her know that the prince was serious.

"Oh, no, highness," she hurried, knowing what was expected of her in a situation like this, "I should be sorry, I-"

"No," Raj cut her off, "please, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." She stared at him in shock for a while longer, and Raj finally said, "thank you for my breakfast."

She stared at him for a while longer, before murmuring, "yes, of course. You're... you're welcome. Enjoy, your highness." She took one more confused look at him, before turning and making her way out of the room, a lot less rushed this time.

Raj could feel Sakaki giving him that stupid, proud smile. He reached out for a grape, popping it in to his mouth and trying to pretend he hadn't noticed Sakaki. The advisor waited until the woman had left the room, "well done, highness."

"Oh, shut up," Raj murmured, shoving more grapes in his mouth so he wouldn't have to speak. Sakaki chuckled, knowing Raj had only said it out of embarrassment and not to be malicious.

An hour or two passed, and Eugena and Rona had come in to Raj's study to see him. They wanted to hear stories about the pirate ship and how Raj, Sakaki and Zen had teamed up with the Lions of the Mountain. More than anything, though, the children were excited to see Shirayuki, again. They had become quite fond of her during her stay, and had tried to get her and Raj romantically involved more than once. They had taken notice to the fact that Shirayuki had been the one to cause their brother to begin changing in to a decent human being. The prince couldn't deny he had some semblance of feelings for Shirayuki - it was hard not to after all she'd done for him. However, he knew that she loved Zen... and all he wanted for her at this point was for her to be happy. For her to be happy, she had to live in Clarines.

Raj was staring out the window as Sakaki told the twins all kinds of stories about Umihebi and her ship, and the Lions of the Mountain. The older man had always been very good with children, and knew exactly how to entertain them. Suddenly, Raj saw several horses riding up the path. He put both hands up to the window excitedly, watching intently to see who it was. When they got closer, Raj finally saw some very distinct red hair. He almost began bouncing up and down as they finally stopped at the door, but he kept himself in check. The moment they got off of their horses, Raj shouted, "Shirayuki's here!" He whizzed past Sakaki and between the twins, out in to the hall and toward the stairs. Sakaki stayed where he was for a moment, just smiling to himself at Raj's excitement before following. The prince almost fell down four stories of stairs, gasping and flailing his arms in circles for a moment to get his balance back. "Shirayuki!" he shouted as he saw Shirayuki and the others enter the castle. The twins were close behind Raj, also extremely excited to see her.

Shirayuki stepped up to the bottom of the stairs, smiling, "hello Prince Raj!"

Raj looked down at her for a moment, just smiling. She was here. She was right here, alive and in one piece. He started down the stairs, taking very little time to get his sore body to the bottom of them. When he saw the partially healed cut on her face, he immediately felt some anger rising up in his chest. He frowned, asking first and foremost, "are you alright? Did that awful wretch do that to your face?"

Shirayuki smiled softly at him, "I'm fine, don't worry. It's already almost healed."

The prince looked unconvinced for a short moment, looking her over from head to toe for any signs that she might be injured. All he could find was the cut on her right cheek. He took a deep breath, relieved. He just stared at her for a moment, before saying solemnly, "Shirayuki."

"What is it?" she asked, big green eyes looking at him in curiosity.

Raj frowned, hesitating for a moment before saying, "I... I'm sorry. You were a guest at my castle and I... I couldn't protect you."

"That's ridiculous," Shirayuki said immediately, looking like she was almost angry at him for suggesting such a thing, "this had nothing to do with you, Prince Raj."

His eyes widened, just staring at her in shock for a moment before his face softened. "If you say so," he answered, knowing better than to argue with Shirayuki. He wouldn't win. It looked like Sakaki had been right, she wasn't angry with him. She smiled when he said that, and Raj blushed just a bit, coughing and looking away, "I'm sure you're all tired from travel. I'll let you rest, and maybe have something to eat." He slowly looked back at her, "I'll see you tonight?"

"That sounds good," the herbalist said, smiling and turning back around to walk back toward Zen and the others. Raj watched her for a while longer, just so relieved to see that she was here, and okay. He turned back around after a while, heading back up the stairs to Sakaki and his younger siblings.

As he approached the top, he could hear his brother and sister scheming - another plan to convince Shirayuki to stay in Tanbarun. He frowned, marching up the stairs and up to them, hands on his hips, "you little brats are scheming again, aren't you?!"

"Don't start with us!" Rona pouted, "you know you want Shirayuki to stay here in the castle!"

Raj hardened his voice, saying very seriously, "I do not." It was a half truth. Of course he wanted her to stay, but he wanted her to be happy more than he wanted her to stay.

"What, why?!" Rona asked, confused.

Raj sighed. He had to get the two of them to leave Shirayuki alone tonight. She'd been through enough, the past few days. She deserved to have a good night, free of the duo's shenanigans. He thought for a short moment, before deciding to give them a dose of _old_ Raj to throw them off. He smiled, standing up straight and snapping his fingers, "a Shirayuki that stays with me on purpose? Boring." He grinned and walked away, back to his study. Rona stared at him angrily, confused as to if he meant that or if he was trying to shake them. Eugena just looked confused, looking over at Rona for an explanation. Sakaki chuckled, following after the prince.

Later that night, hundreds of people were lining up outside to attend the ball. Raj and Sakaki were both already by the orchestra, waiting for Shirayuki to arrive. The room was already filled with lots of people - prominent politicians, wealthy contributors, and beautiful women. The prince was only interested in one person, though. He was obviously a bit nervous, but Sakaki thought he was doing rather well. The prince immediately perked up when he saw Shirayuki enter the room, blushing just a bit when he saw her dress. Sakaki went to the violinist, informing them to play the music that Raj had chosen.

The prince slowly made his way through the crowd, watching as Shirayuki finally realized that familiar music was playing. "It's the song," she murmured, listening closely.

"It is," Raj said, finally making it over to her. Shirayuki had only recently learned how to dance, so Raj had her select a slow song that would be easy for her to dance to. "You should have the opportunity to dance to the song you chose," he said.

"Well then" she said, smiling and reaching a hand out, "want to have a go?"

The prince smiled, saying nervously, "when you say it that way, it sounds like you want to fight."

"Does it?" Shirayuki asked, laughing a bit. She could tell that Raj was still nervous about their friendship. "What do you think?" she asked, and he looked at her in confusion. "Were we finally able to become friends?" Shirayuki asked, more specific that time.

Raj's eyes widened, and he finally reached out and took her hand, beginning to dance slowly. "I believe so..." he said quietly, "and I'm clearly the one that got the better deal."

Sakaki watched from a distance, smiling just slightly as he watched Raj and Shirayuki dance. The advisor could not have been more grateful to Shirayuki for being the final kick in the pants that Raj had needed to begin taking himself seriously. He divided his attention between Raj and the twins. He could see them watching the dance from across the room, and he wasn't completely sure if they were scheming or not. When he returned his attention to Raj, he noticed a surprised look on his face, followed by the most genuine smile he'd ever seen on the younger man. He wondered what Shirayuki had said to get that smile from him.

Soon, the song ended, and Shirayuki and Raj parted ways. As he made his way back to his advisor, he couldn't hide the stupid grin on his face. Sakaki didn't even have to ask what had happened, since as soon as the prince made it back to his side he announced, "she called me her friend! And, and said she wants me to visit her in Clarines, and wants to come back to Tanbarun sometimes, too!" It seemed so childish, but Sakaki knew it was a huge deal to Raj. This was the first time she had called him that, and honestly, she was probably the first genuine friend Raj had made on his own.

"That's fantastic, highness," Sakaki said, meaning every word. He noticed a big difference between Raj's disposition now and just a few weeks ago. Gone was the self-loathing and insecurity, replaced with confidence. The past few days had been an emotional rollercoaster for the younger man, but it had caused him to grow leaps and bounds in a rather short amount of time. There would still be some days where the prince would be unsure or need guidance, but he was definitely on the road to becoming the future King of Tanbarun.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Thank you for reading! It turned out a lot longer than I had expected it to. There _might_ be a chapter three, but I mostly doubt it.

Johnna


	3. Chapter Three

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys! Thanks for taking the time to read this far in! I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to upload this one or not, as I put a little more of myself in to this chapter, and that makes me nervous.

* * *

Sakaki approached Prince Raj's study, knocking gently. The prince had been in there all day, and for the past week or two this had slowly become more and more common.

"Yes?" Raj called out, and Sakaki slowly opened the door, looking the younger man over for a moment. Raj had large, deep circles under his eyes, and his shoulders were tense as he wrote, taking notes on the book he was studying. Sakaki frowned, closing the door behind him and approaching the prince's desk.

"Sir, you've been studying all day," the advisor pointed out, "perhaps you should rest soon."

Raj shrugged, opening a new book and saying matter-of-factly, "there's still too much to do."

Sakaki sighed, going around the desk and over to the younger man. "Prince Raj," he said expectantly, trying to get him to look up from his book. Raj's shoulders tensed further, and he kept his eyes glued to the pages. Sakaki crouched down by his chair, saying more firmly, "Raj."

The prince noticed the deliberate drop of the title - Sakaki hadn't done that since the day they rescued Shirayuki. He bit his lip, gripping his pen tighter. Sakaki reached for his pen and gently plucked it from his hand. The younger man finally looked up, and Sakaki immediately recognized the look on Raj's face. The prince's dark green eyes occasionally flickered away from Sakaki's, struggling to hold his gaze. "Raj," the advisor said quietly, reaching out and and gently holding his chin, holding his face in place. "What's going on with you, hm?" he murmured, "you've been avoiding looking at me for almost two weeks now. Why do you look so guilty?" Had Raj slipped recently? Had he treated anyone less than human? No... the prince had been unbelievably good to the people around him, including commoners. Well, Sakaki wasn't around Raj twenty four hours a day... maybe something had happened while they were apart?

Raj bit down harder on his lip, saying softly, "because... because I am." He looked down for just a moment as he said that, before finally looking back up. Raj was no longer any good at lying to Sakaki, not after the older man had taken him in hand like he had those two weeks ago. Well, Raj _thought_ he was good at lying to Sakaki before their change in relationship... that didn't necessarily make it true. Sakaki had a huge hand in raising to first prince of Tanbarun, as well as the twins. Raj wasn't nearly as sneaky as he thought he was growing up.

Sakaki was impressed with Raj's straightforwardness. "Why are you feeling guilty?" he prompted gently.

Raj's eyes flickered away for a moment. "I... I threw dirt... in your face," the prince murmured, very slowly, like he didn't want to say it or even think about it. His lip quivered just once before he finally said, "and I'm... I'm selfish."

Sakaki was absolutely blown away by what the younger man had just said. All this time, the awkward glances, the inability to look him in the eyes, the avoidance... it was all because of that one little tantrum Raj had thrown after throwing up those two weeks ago. Sakaki was internally _kicking_ himself for not having figured that out sooner. All this time, the younger man had been suffering, and Sakaki should have seen that and stepped in sooner. "Kiddo, that was weeks ago," Sakaki exclaimed, voice gentle as he asked, "why do you think you're selfish?"

Raj tried to pull his face away, but his advisor held it firmly in place. He whimpered a bit, whining quietly and looking up at Sakaki with a pleading look. He really didn't want to answer that question. Sakaki kept his eyes on Raj's, waiting for the answer. He wasn't backing down, this was too important. Raj sighed, looking to the side and finally just spitting out, "because I want you to... to help me again and I... I shouldn't expect something like that of you! It's selfish!"

"Help you...?" Sakaki asked in confusion, noticing how Raj's gaze dropped and shame crept across his face. Suddenly, it hit him. "Oh..." Sakaki exclaimed softly, letting go of his chin, "oh, kiddo... you could have told me that." Raj still looked absolutely mortified and ashamed, very obviously not believing a word of that. "It's not selfish at _all,_ " he tried to reassure him, reaching out and grabbing Raj's hand.

Raj finally looked back up at his advisor, asking cautiously, "it... it's not?"

"Of course it's not," Sakaki said, voice completely confident. He meant what he was saying. He squeezed the prince's hand, locking eyes with him, "when I told you that I would do it a thousand times more if it meant helping you, I meant that." Raj's shoulders visibly relaxed, and the tension in his face began to melt. Sakaki smiled when he saw the younger man relax a bit. He got up and out of the crouching position, reaching down and offering his hand to the prince.

Raj felt his stomach drop a bit, realizing that Sakaki was going to do this right now. Even if he needed it, and partly wanted it, it was still just a little scary. He slowly reached out, taking his hand and allowing the advisor to help him to his feet. Sakaki put a gentle hand on his back, leading him to his bedroom door. He opened it for him, guiding him inside and instructing, "I'm going to position the guards out of earshot and have them establish a perimeter. While I'm gone, I want you to get in to your pajamas - it's late." He knew the prince would be absolutely worn out afterward if it was anything like the last spanking, and he didn't want Raj to have to get changed while that exhausted.

The prince wanted to argue, say he wasn't tired... but that would be a lie. He'd been overworking himself. "Al...Alright," he agreed. Sakaki smiled approvingly, turning around and heading out the door to speak with the guards. Raj just stood there for a moment, focusing his mind on that smile of approval to calm his nerves a bit. He went over to his armoire, rooting around for a moment and pulling out his pajamas. He quickly began getting changed, too nervous to take his time. Within just a minute or two he was finished, and considering the prince almost always dressed in a ton of layers that was quite the accomplishment. He slipped on his favorite purple housecoat, taking a deep breath and going over to his bed. He laid down, grabbing one of his pillows and hanging on to it tightly, curling up a bit.

The longer Raj waited for Sakaki, the more nervous he became. By the time the advisor re-entered the room, Raj was a shaky mess clinging to a pillow. Sakaki frowned, hurrying to the bed when he saw the prince's current emotional state. Sakaki leaned down, quickly untying his boots and kicking them off, not wanting to dirty the sheets. He hurried to remove his sword, setting it against the wall. He laid down next to the younger man, reaching out for the pillow and gently trying to pry it out of the prince's arms. "Raj," he prompted softly, pulling a little harder when the younger man hung on tighter, "it's alright, kiddo, I'm right here, now let go of the pillow."

Sakaki's words finally penetrated Raj's anxiety, and he let go of the pillow, immediately grabbing on to Sakaki's cloak with shaking hands. The older man pulled him in to his arms, crooning softly, "sssh, I've got you."

Raj whimpered, quickly hanging on a bit tighter and hurrying out, "I'm sorry, I d-don't know what's wrong with me..." His voice was watery and angry - Sakaki could tell, he was angry at himself.

"It's alright," Sakaki crooned, petting his hair back, "it's alright to be nervous, or scared. This is the first time we've ever planned a spanking ahead of time. If it would make you less anxious, you could come with me next time, when I speak to the guards."

Raj nodded his head, very quickly realizing that he didn't like being left alone when he was feeling this way. He hung on tighter for a moment, just letting Sakaki pet his hair back. He took the time to breathe, slowly beginning to calm down. "There..." Sakaki praised as he began to calm, "you're doing great. Just relax, I'll take care of everything." Raj melted against him, finding a lot of comfort in that promise. Sakaki just held the younger man closely for the next few minutes, wanting to make sure he was calm before beginning. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

"I... I feel a lot better now..." Raj said, hesitantly.

Sakaki gave him a squeeze, "I'm sensing a 'but'..."

Raj squirmed uncomfortably for a moment, burying his face in to Sakaki's chest. The advisor could tell that Raj needed a moment to gather the courage to say whatever it was he was planning on saying. "Sakaki, I..." he stuttered, really struggling, "I... I-I feel like I deserve a lot worse than what you did before."

Sakaki blinked, frowning and checking with the younger man, "Raj, I need to know... you understand that I forgave you for that the moment it happened, right?"

"I... I know that, yeah," Raj agreed, hiding his face further in to Sakaki's chest and explaining, "I just... I, um." He really was struggling for the right words. "It was, it was awful at the time but afterwards, I felt a lot better after you..." he hesitated, voice going a lot quieter, "...scolded me."

Sakaki studied the prince's body language, asking carefully, "are you sure that's something you want?"

"Want? No..." Raj mused, "but it... it helped." He pulled his face out of Sakaki's chest, slowly looking up at his advisor. "If it makes you uncomfortable then you can forget I said anything," the younger man said quietly. Sakaki could see that the prince was searching his face for any signs of disgust. Before he could say anything, Raj's eyes dropped and his shoulders slumped, asking softly, "is there something wrong with me, Sakaki...?"

"Absolutely _not,_ " Sakaki said immediately. He pulled the boy in closer and squeezed. "There's nothing wrong with needing some stability or to be held accountable. You've not had a lot of that, growing up, and it's alright to crave it."

Raj searched Sakaki's face again, looking for signs that he might be lying. "It's not... it's not wrong?" he asked hesitantly.

"Uncommon? Yes," Sakaki mused, keeping his eyes on Raj's and not faltering once. "Wrong? Absolutely not," he reassured him. The prince's shoulders seemed to relax a bit, some of the fear draining out of his eyes. "So, what you're trying to tell me is that you need me to be more strict with you?" he asked, wanting to make sure he understood the situation completely before moving forward.

Raj nodded slowly, gripping Sakaki's cloak tighter. He couldn't believe he'd just admitted that. "I... I still liked the way you'd talked to me, though," he tried to articulate.

Sakaki blinked, asking, "what way are you referring to?"

Raj looked incredibly frustrated, like he didn't want to say the words. "Like..." he struggled with himself for a moment, before murmuring quietly, "like I... like I was small." The prince had said that so quietly that it could have easily been missed if Sakaki hadn't been listening very closely. Raj buried his face back in to his advisor's chest, trying to disappear. "It's stupid..." he murmured.

Sakaki reached down with one of his hands, patting his backside firmly just a few times and insisting, "it's no such thing."

Raj whimpered when he felt Sakaki pat his bottom, slowly raising his head again to read his face. "You're... you're sure about that...?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course I'm sure," Sakaki assured him, "look, kiddo... there's nothing wrong with you. If that's what you need, then that's what you need, and I'm going to take care of you." Raj looked up at Sakaki like he could just cry from relief. He suddenly reached up with both arms, throwing them around the advisor's neck and hanging on tightly. Sakaki wrapped both arms around the prince's waist and pulled him in closer, asking gently, "this has been on your mind for a while, hasn't it?" Raj nodded quickly, hanging on even tighter. "You don't have to be so afraid to tell me things, Raj," Sakaki said, petting his hair back, "I know this is all very new to you, but I'm never going to judge you for something you need, I promise. I'm going to take care of you." Raj's body almost instantly turned to jelly at the last of Sakaki's words. He laid his head down on his advisor's shoulder and closed his eyes, just so relieved that this hadn't gone south like he'd expected it to.

Sakaki smiled softly as the younger man relaxed against him. "Do you feel better?" he asked, carding his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, thank you," Raj murmured, hanging on tighter when he realized where this was probably going.

"Good," Sakaki said, giving him a squeeze and saying seriously, "now... I'm going to push you, tonight. If I do something that's legitimately too much for you to take, I expect you to tell me so. Are we in agreement?"

Raj shrunk a bit, both relieved and worried when Sakaki said he was going to push him. He hung on tightly to Sakaki's cloak, staying silent for a moment before saying quietly, "yes, sir."

"Good boy," Sakaki praised. He could feel Raj's back straighten out in pride a bit when he said that. The older man smiled a bit at that, happy that he could make the prince so happy so easily. He ruffled Raj's hair a bit, saying gently, but firmly, "alright, kiddo. I think it's time." Raj's shoulders tensed, but he didn't argue, hesitantly nodding his head. Sakaki pet his hair back one more time before sitting up, helping the prince up with him. Raj just let his advisor move him, not sure what to do or where to move. He got up off the bed, and the younger man watched him curiously. His eyes dropped when he saw Sakaki go over to his dresser and grab his large, wide hairbrush, which had been crafted out of polished hardwood. He knew exactly what he was planning to do with that, even if this was their first time using it. "We're going to try something a little different this time," Sakaki explained, crawling back on to the bed and scooting back to sit against the headboard. He set the brush down next to him, gently took Raj's upper arm, and lead him over his lap. "Is this more comfortable than last time?" he asked, wrapping his left arm around his waist.

Raj allowed Sakaki to guide him over his lap, almost immediately melting once he was over. He nodded - he no longer felt like he was falling off of his lap like he had last time. The prince wished he could understand why he found himself relaxing. Maybe it was the relief that Sakaki had agreed to give him what he needed. Maybe it was the security he felt from being over Sakaki's lap with his arm around his waist. Maybe it was both. He folded his arms in front of him, resting his head on them and closing his eyes. He felt safe.

Sakaki began rubbing his backside for just a moment, speaking evenly, "do you understand why I'm spanking you, kiddo?" The advisor planned on making that question part of the routine. He needed to know that Raj understood what he was being spanked for, to avoid misunderstandings.

Raj whimpered and squirmed uncomfortably when he began rubbing. "Because," he stuttered, "because... I threw d-dirt at your face and I... I called you stupid." The younger man sounded thoroughly ashamed of himself. He'd had so much time to think about this.

Sakaki squeezed Raj's waist supportively, knowing that talking about this so openly was hard for him. "Yes, you did, young man," Sakaki said firmly, patting his bottom before lifting the back of his housecoat up and laying it on the younger man's back. It was one too many layers for Raj to feel this properly. "I know you're feeling guilty about what happened, kiddo..." Sakaki murmured, "I'm going to do my best to help you feel a bit better." He wanted the younger man to understand that the main goal wasn't to punish him, but to help him feel better. The poor kid had more than punished himself enough. Even if Sakaki had never originally planned on punishing Raj for what he'd done, he now knew that the decision to not spank him had been a mistake. That first spanking had triggered a serious craving for structure in the young prince, and Sakaki had to make sure that he got exactly what he needed. Right now, what the younger man needed was to be held accountable. He needed to know that his actions had consequences because to be frank, they hadn't always.

When Sakaki patted his backside, Raj tensed up a bit, hanging on to the sheets. Sakaki patted again, pulling his hand back and landing it firmly over the seat of his pants. Raj let out a loud yelp, jolting forward a bit before willing himself back in to position. Sakaki began peppering the younger man's backside with firm, quick smacks, explaining, "I'm going to make sure that treating someone that way never so much as _crosses your mind_ ever again."

Raj whimpered and whined before forcing himself to go quiet. He yanked harder on the sheets, doing his best to hold still. After a minute or so of spanking, Sakaki moved the swats down to his under-curves, reminding the younger man, "you know you don't have to stay still, or quiet, right?" He'd definitely noticed how the prince seemed to be forcing himself still.

Raj's shoulders tensed, shrugging. Sakaki frowned, swatting the prince's under-curves a few times more and saying more firmly, "Raj." The younger man's whole body tensed up, and Sakaki sighed, stopping for a moment and gently rubbing his backside. "Raj," he prompted more gently, "kiddo... you're obviously trying to force yourself to hold still and be quiet."

The prince buried his face further in to his arms, murmuring quietly, "...so?" He tried not to relax at the rubbing, still rather bothered by the fact that some aspects of this situation relaxed him.

"Well, you didn't do that last time," Sakaki explained, "so you must be doing it for a reason, and I'm a bit worried about that reason."

Raj screwed his eyes shut tightly, hanging on to the sheets. "I... it's stupid," he muttered.

"The last time you thought something was stupid, I most definitely didn't agree with you," Sakaki reminded him. He noticed how the younger man kept fighting his very clear want to relax.

Raj let out a dramatic sigh, obviously annoyed by the fact that Sakaki was demanding answers. "I... thought that maybe if I whined too much," he muttered under his breath, "then I... wouldn't look as sincere."

Sakaki was more than a bit surprised by his answer. Oh, silly child. "That's not stupid," he reassured him, wanting to make sure that Raj never skipped over telling him his feelings for fear of sounding dumb. "However, just because it's not stupid doesn't mean it's correct," he explained, rubbing and patting as he spoke, "I promise you, kiddo, I'm not questioning your sincerity or guilty feelings." He could feel the younger man finally allowing himself to relax once he'd heard those words. "If you want or need to whine, kick, fuss, or even act up a bit," Sakaki promised, "I still won't question your intentions. Raj, you literally asked me to spank you... and even if you hadn't, I still wouldn't have questioned your sincerity."

The prince had finally loosened his grip on the sheets and was playing with the hem on his sleeves nervously. "You're absolutely sure about that?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am," Sakaki insisted, "this isn't going to work at all unless you allow yourself to feel everything you're feeling... and I don't expect that to be a comfortable or quiet experience."

There was a long pause, before Raj finally conceded, saying quietly, "if you're sure." This entire thing was very confusing to him. It almost seemed like Sakaki understood Raj's emotions ages before Raj himself, did.

"Good boy," Sakaki praised, causing the younger man to melt over his lap. He rubbed a bit longer, eventually patting and pulling his hand back. He landed a firm smack to one side of his backside, wrapping his arm around the prince's waist as he watched him jolt forward a bit. He quickly picked the spanking up right where they left off, and Raj immediately began whining. This was definitely different than what the younger man had been attempting earlier.

Raj began squirming just slightly in discomfort, hanging on tightly to the sheets as Sakaki slowly moved the spanks down to his under-curves. He kicked one of his legs out to show his obvious displeasure, gasping every few swats. Once Sakaki was sure he'd warmed his backside up enough to move on to the next step, he stopped. The advisor hooked his fingers in to the waistband of his pajama pants, carefully slipping them down to his knees. Raj let out what sounded like a stifled whine, whimpering, "Sakaki..."

"I know, kiddo," Sakaki crooned softly, rubbing his backside gently for just a moment. He patted in warning, pulling his hand back and landing it firmly, picking the spanking back up over his underwear. "But I'm afraid I have to make sure that what happened _never_ happens again," the older man scolded, "I know you were exhausted and ill, and I know it was less than easy... but trying to push me away will never help you, and on top of that, you'll never succeed."

Raj yelped and jolted, yanking on the sheets and kicking a foot out. He actually teared up just a bit when Sakaki said his attempts to push him away would be unsuccessful. He stayed relatively quiet, whimpering but keeping his comments to himself. Sakaki could see exactly what was happening, so he moved his spanks down to his sensitive under-curves. Raj whined a bit, sounding like he wanted to be louder but was fighting it. The advisor decided that if Raj needed a strict disciplinarian, then that would be exactly what he would become. He swatted the center of his backside a few times, hardening his voice just enough to sound stern. "Am I understood, young man?" he asked.

"Y-Yes! Understood, sir!" Raj cried out, gasping and beginning to squirm his hips a bit. He whimpered, biting down on his lip and clenching the sheets tightly in his fists. As childish and whiny as he felt right now, he had no plans on fighting Sakaki when he scolded him - he felt like he deserved every word. He felt like he deserved every spank, too, but he'd likely struggle to be quiet about that. That was alright, he knew Sakaki didn't expect him to be quiet.

"Good," Sakaki exclaimed, raising his knee a bit so he could aim decently at every little area he needed to.

Raj whined loudly at the position, not liking how vulnerable and small it made him feel. "Sakakiiiii!" he whined, squirming a bit. His advisor had just pushed him even further in to this very small mindset, and it was getting harder and harder to handle with dignity.

"I know, kiddo," Sakaki said sympathetically, but still with a hint of firmness. He made sure to warm up the prince's backside and under-curves properly, knowing that this was going to be a rather hard spanking compared to the last one. He didn't want to cause him any marks that would last too long or be unbearable. After a few more minutes, Raj's constant whining and squirming had died down a bit, and Sakaki decided that now would be the perfect time to move on to the next step. "Alright, Raj," he sad gently, but firmly, hooking his fingers in to the waistband of his underwear and beginning to pull them down, "these have to come down, now."

Raj's right hand shot back, hanging on tightly to the fabric and pulling them back up. "N-No!" he shouted, having a harder time accepting this than the last time.

"I'll give you one warning, and only one warning, young man," Sakaki explained, patting the prince's right thigh and saying matter-of-factly, "you will _not_ like what I'll do if you don't."

The prince whined, hanging on tighter to his underwear and shaking his head. "I... I don't want to!" he said childishly, though Sakaki knew that it wasn't the younger man's way of saying he had to legitimately stop.

"I know you don't want to," Sakaki said, pulling his hand back and landing several quick, sharp smacks to Raj's thighs, "but you're going to, young man." Raj yelped out loudly, quickly ripping his hand away from his underwear and hanging on to the covers. Oh, that had _really_ hurt! He whimpered, shaking lightly and breathing heavily and quickly for a moment - he really wasn't used to pain. Sakaki immediately stopped when he let go, gently rubbing his thighs in an effort to relieve some of the sting. "I know, shhh, good boy," Sakaki soothed, knowing that this wasn't easy. Raj almost immediately began calming when Sakaki called him that. He'd really grown to adore being called that. Once he felt Raj's muscles slowly de-tense, he grabbed the waistband of his underwear again, gently slipping them down and to his knees. Raj whimpered when he felt the air brush across his backside, tensing back up. Sakaki carefully wrapped his left arm around the younger man's waist, giving him a squeeze and murmuring, "you're doing great, kiddo. Take a deep breath, it'll be alright." He wanted to be strict, but he didn't want to be cruel.

Raj nodded, attempting to take in a deep breath, shakily letting it out and relaxing just slightly. Sakaki rubbed his thighs a bit longer, before moving his hand back up to his bottom and patting. He pulled his hand back, bringing it down firmly. Raj yelped and kicked his leg out, whimpering and burying his face in to his arms. The advisor raised his knee back up, picking the spanking back up where he left off, and a bit harder. The prince whined loudly at the change in position, reaching back and gently smacking at Sakaki's leg and demanding, "p-put your leg down!"

"My leg is staying exactly where it is, kiddo," Sakaki informed him, peppering his backside with faster smacks. Chances were, if Raj wanted him to put it down then it was probably making him feel uncomfortably small. Unfortunately, that was something the advisor needed him to be, right now. Raj whined louder, kicking his legs as the older man slowly moved the spanking down to his under-curves. He kept pounding on Sakaki's leg, whining, "put it _down!"_

Sakaki kept his leg right where it was, letting the younger man pound on his leg. He knew that it might be important for him to try to fight him a bit. The pounding on his leg was light and not frantic - this wasn't a demand he needed to take seriously. When the pounding didn't work, Raj whined louder and began kicking his legs wildly, demanding, "let me up! I... we... it's not going to help!" He was very obviously lying - Sakaki was almost always able to tell when the prince was lying. The truth was, if the advisor allowed Raj up, the prince would be extremely disappointed.

Sakaki halted the spanking for a moment, reaching over for the brush. He kept his arm around Raj's waist, tapping the flat, hard side of the hairbrush against the younger man's backside. Raj tensed up, and before he could speak, Sakaki pulled it back and brought it down with a sharp crack. The older man actually winced at the sound and how Raj jolted forward, almost jumping off of his lap and crying out, "ah-howww!"

"This isn't like your sword lessons as a child, Raj," Sakaki informed him, picking the spanking back up with the brush, but softer than that first smack. "You're not going to just drop it because it's getting difficult and call it boring," the older man scolded.

The prince whined louder, kicking his legs out again and whimpering out childishly, "but... b-but I, it... it hurts!"

Sakaki knew what Raj meant by that. He doubted that Raj cared as much about the pain as he was acting. This was about how difficult things were now becoming, emotionally. "It's supposed to hurt, little boy," Sakaki informed him, chancing the nickname as he slowly increased the severity and pace, "I'm going to make sure you understand that I take that promise I made very seriously. If you act up like an unruly child, you're going to end up right back over my knee."

Raj whimpered, gasping loudly every few smacks. When Sakaki called him 'little boy' he almost stopped breathing. He didn't know how to respond to it, all he knew was that it pushed him so far in to the state of mind he'd been trying to fight that it was almost scary. Scratch the almost, it was very scary. He didn't even know if he liked it or disliked it, he just felt so damn small.

The advisor really, honestly hated to scold Raj for this. The truth was, Sakaki completely understood the prince's outburst. However, if a brief period of spanking and scolding helped the younger man recover from the incident, then so be it. He noticed the way Raj's body almost instantly changed at what he had called him. He couldn't even pinpoint exactly what had changed, but something had most definitely changed. He'd push it a bit further, try to make him feel smaller. "Throwing things at people like a stubborn child is _not acceptable,_ is it, young man?" Sakaki asked, pushing the boy to speak as he moved the spanks down to his under-curves.

" _N-No_ sir!" the younger man cried out, yelping every few smacks. His voice was beginning to get watery as he reached back, hanging on tightly to Sakaki's pants for support. "I'm s-sorry I, I won't do it again, I..." he took a shaky breath, crying out when he felt the older man focus on the sensitive area. His lip quivered, taking a deep breath and rather suddenly letting out a rather explosive sob, "I-I'll be good!" His shoulders slumped and shook, and he collapsed over his advisor's lap, beginning to bawl, breaking down at top speeds. This was not like the last time. It wasn't slow and drawn out, Raj fighting his emotions. It was explosive and sudden. The younger man had been struggling for weeks with the guilt and had been trying to find some form of release for it for almost just as long.

Sakaki's hand stopped mid-swing, the older man absolutely blown away by what the prince had said and just how young he sounded, saying it. It really hadn't taken very long for the brush to do its job. The bawling was so sudden and loud, it ripped through Sakaki's chest, yanking at his heart. The advisor didn't even pull up Raj's underwear, this time, very much in a hurry to gather the sobbing mess in to his arms. Sakaki was glad he'd done this in a different position, it would make getting Raj to lay down a lot easier. "Shhh, it's alright," the older man murmured, dropping the strict tone and pitching it to soothe, now, "it's all over, shhh..." He gently tried to coax Raj up, but the poor kid was crying way too hard to move himself. He seemed to cry harder when he realized that he couldn't move - he very much wanted the hug that he knew Sakaki would give him. Sakaki frowned, crooning softly, "it's alright, I'm going to take care of it." He very carefully maneuvered the younger man on to his side, avoiding moving his eyes downward as he did so. He gently shifted the prince to the right so his hip was on the mattress, and slowly reached underneath his torso and scooped him up in to his arms.

Raj welcomed the embrace, too weak to lift his arms, but hanging on to his shirt shakily. "I'll be g-good..." he murmured quietly, before breaking back down in to loud sobbing, leaning heavily in to Sakaki.

Sakaki slowly scooted himself downward, easing himself back to lay down, still holding the younger man to him. Raj weakly maneuvered himself downward so he was more comfortable, laying his head on his chest and bawling brokenly. "Shhh..." the older man crooned, cradling his head to his chest protectively and murmuring, "I know you will, kiddo, you're a good boy."

Raj's chest tightened and twisted at the older man's words. His shoulders tensed up and he hung on tighter to Sakaki's shirt, sobbing louder and almost shouting, "I w-was doing so _well_ and I... I _ruined_ it!" The loud sobbing was making it harder to control his volume.

"Oh, kiddo..." Sakaki murmured, petting the younger man's hair back and crooning, "you didn't ruin anything."

Raj slowly lifted his arms, throwing them around Sakaki's neck and hanging on for dear life. "I... but I..." he sniffled, trying to speak between sobs, "I t-treated you like I used to, I... I treated you _worse_ than I used to! I... I've not changed at _all_!"

"Shhh, now..." Sakaki whispered, holding him closer when he threw his arms around his neck. "You made a mistake, Raj..." he said softly, "on little to no sleep, with a person that you knew wasn't going to leave you. I know you think that means that you haven't changed, but it just means you're human. You were exhausted, and sick, and not to mention worried."

Raj whimpered, burying his face deeper in to Sakaki's chest and hanging on tighter. "I'm s-scared, I..." he held his breath for a moment, trying to force himself to calm down. It was all for naught, though... as the younger man quickly broke back down in to a fit of sobs, "I don't want to be b-bad anymore!"

Bad. Sakaki frowned when he heard that word fly out of the prince's mouth. It was such a short, childish word, but it meant so much. Sakaki slowly unwrapped one of his arms from the younger man's waist, gently petting his hair back and murmuring, "you're not bad, kiddo, I promise you." He took a chance, wrapping his arm back around him and slowly leaning his head down and kissing the top of his head gently.

Raj's breath hitched when he felt Sakaki kiss the top of his head. He took a long, shaky breath, tightening his arms around Sakaki's neck and just wailing. For a moment, Sakaki wasn't sure if he'd done something wrong, but the way the younger man was hanging on to him for dear life settled his fears. Sakaki tightened his hold on the prince, whispering in to his hair as he wailed, "shhh, my good little boy..."

Raj froze for a moment, breath hitching and lip quivering. There was something about how Sakaki had just said that, that made the younger man want to melt in to a puddle of prince. He tightened his hold on Sakaki, the rest of his body going limp against his advisor as he suddenly let out a childish whine. Said whine quickly dissolved in to sobbing, though it was a calmer, cleansing sounding cry rather than the angry, panicky tears the boy was releasing earlier. He wasn't bad, he was good - Sakaki had said so. Sakaki never lied to Raj about how he felt about his behavior, he was always very blunt. He couldn't help but silently enjoy that possessive pronoun a bit. He really did, honest to God look up to Sakaki, especially lately. He loved when the older man was proud enough to call him a good boy, but to be called _his_ good boy was huge. For the longest time he'd assumed that if given the choice, Sakaki would rather have nothing to do with him. It wasn't even because of how his advisor acted - he'd never acted with anything but patience, attempted understanding and bluntness. Still, after finding out that basically his entire kingdom hated him, it was difficult for Raj to believe anyone would want him in their life. Hell, Sakaki acted like more of a father to him than his own father did. He supposed that maybe if Sakaki had been allowed to reprimand him when he was younger, he wouldn't have grown in to the spoiled, entitled little brat that he'd eventually become.

When Sakaki heard that whine break down in to sobbing, he had to make sure that he hadn't done something wrong. "Is it alright that I called you that?" he asked softly. Raj quickly nodded his head up and down emphatically, not wanting to risk Sakaki never calling him that again. Sakaki smiled when the prince nodded so fervently - he must have _liked_ what he'd said, then. "Alright," he said softly, squeezing Raj closer and just allowing the younger man to sob. He pet his hair back, murmuring softly, "I'm so proud of you, kiddo."

Raj hung on tighter to Sakaki, burying his face in to the crook of his neck and just bawling. He loved hearing that, but at the same time it was still painful and he had a difficult time understanding why he was so proud of him. "Y-You... you really want," Raj stuttered, trying to hold back more tears, "you r-really _want_ me... you're _sure_ of that...?"

Sakaki was floored by the younger man's words. "Want you?" he asked, reaching for the prince's chin and tipping his face up, "why in the world wouldn't I want you?"

Raj bit down on his lip, staring up at Sakaki with puffy, bloodshot eyes and saying quietly, "I... I mean, ever since I, well, figured things out, I..." He diverted his gaze away from the older man's, biting down harder on his lip. "I just d-don't understand how someone could still want me after..." he hurried the last few words out, "everythingIdid!" He tore his chin out of Sakaki's hand and buried his face back in to the crook of his neck, letting out a choked sob before breaking back down. God, that had been hard to admit - he hadn't told anyone that before. Being insecure was extremely new to Raj, and he definitely wasn't used to talking about it.

Sakaki frowned, listening to the heartfelt sobbing and feeling how the prince trembled. "Oh, Raj..." he sighed, petting his hair back and murmuring, "I've been helping to raise you since you were only five years old... how could I _ever_ not want you...?"

"You were hardly allowed to actually enforce any rules, maybe if you had been I wouldn't have turned out so... so..." Spoiled? Selfish? Insufferable? Monstrous? He just couldn't say it. He sobbed louder, just having no idea how to handle all of the things he was currently feeling. Sakaki frowned, taking a breath and opening his mouth to speak, but he was quickly cut off by an extremely distraught prince. "I'm afraid that one day I'm going to throw o-one too many handfuls of dirt at you and you'll... you'll..." Raj stuttered, struggling to say the last bit.

"Give up on you?" Sakaki asked gently, waiting patiently for an answer. There was a long pause, followed by an explosive sob and emphatic nodding. Raj suddenly hung on tighter to the older man, shoulders shaking and crying becoming more and more frantic. The poor boy was hanging on so tightly to him - he was very obviously terrified by the idea of Sakaki eventually leaving. Sakaki took a deep breath, thinking this over for a few moments before using his right arm to push the two of them up in to somewhat of a sitting position. He kept the younger man held closely to him with his left arm, carefully shifting and pulling his cloak out from underneath himself. He did so slowly, so not to rip it. Raj hadn't even seemed to notice that they were sitting up, bawling loudly in to the crook of his advisor's neck.

Sakaki knew that he had to tell the prince something extremely important, and there was no way Raj would be able to properly listen in the panicked state he was in right now. The older man had an idea that he hoped would calm him down; if he was in Raj's shoes, it would calm him down, he was sure of that. Sakaki slowly and gently pried the prince's fingers off of his cloak, moving them underneath the cloak so he could hold on to his shirt instead. Raj quickly reattached himself, hanging on even tighter. "Shhh, now now," he found himself crooning as he slowly slipped his cloak over and off of his head, "I'm not going anywhere, little boy, don't you worry." He began maneuvering the cloak over Raj's head, carefully pulling the prince's face out of his neck just long enough to let the cloak slip over Raj's head on to his shoulders. The cloak was honestly rather oversized for the younger man, blanketing most of his body when his advisor laid them back down on the bed. It took the prince quite a while to notice, sobbing wholeheartedly, entire body trembling. Sakaki continued to murmur gently, rubbing his hand up and down his back gently, "such a good little boy, shhh... _my_ good little boy. I'm here, shhh."

Raj let out a little whine, just absolutely bawling in to Sakaki's neck. He loved hearing those words but at the same time, they hurt. After another minute or so, the prince began to notice the heavy weight on his back and shoulders. Despite his stuffed up nose, he also began to notice the faint scent of his mentor all around him. Did he just think of Sakaki as his mentor? Well, he supposed he was. The scent began breaking through the boy's panic, causing his shoulders to slowly begin to relax. It was so oddly comforting - like suddenly smelling something familiar from his childhood. The weight on his shoulders and back made him feel surrounded on all sides against Sakaki. He slowly sobbed softer and softer, until it was only a quiet, but steady cry.

"Good boy... now, I need you to listen very closely to me," Sakaki instructed softly, and Raj weakly nodded his head. "First of all, no matter what you throw my way, I'm not going anywhere," he promised the prince, "I've seen that glimpse of who you really are in there, buried deep under all this mess that you've built up around yourself over the years. You're a good man, Raj, and I won't give up on you." Raj kept crying quietly, whimpering a bit and just trying to listen. "You're so convinced that your earlier mistake was the old you shining through," Sakaki said, asking quietly, "do you know why I didn't originally spank you for it?"

"Because... be-because I was sick...?" Raj tried between sniffles.

"Well, that's indeed a small part of it..." Sakaki mused, gently petting Raj's hair back, "but do you know the main reason?" The younger man slowly shook his head, not sure how to answer that. Sakaki wrapped both arms back around Raj, asking gently, "during your first spanking I told you that if I even remotely thought you were slipping back in to old ways, I would put you right back over my knee, isn't that right?"

The prince sniffled, nodding his head hesitantly and looking up at Sakaki in confusion.

"Well, I didn't think you were slipping back in to old ways, and that's why I didn't spank you. It really, truly is that simple, little boy," Sakaki explained, locking eyes with the younger man. Raj's eyes went wide, just staring at Sakaki for a moment. Sakaki smiled softly, reaching up and ruffling the prince's hair a bit, "you can't keep assuming that every mistake you make is because of your old self rearing his head. Sometimes, it'll just be because you're human... and that's what happened the day you threw that dirt at me."

Raj stared at Sakaki a bit longer, eyes slowly tearing up again. He bit down on his lip, burying his face back in to Sakaki's neck and letting out a choked sob. "S-Sakakiiihiiii," he sobbed, not even knowing what he wanted to say.

"Shhh, I know," the older man soothed, "it's going to be alright, kiddo." Raj buried his face as far as it would go in to Sakaki's neck, still hanging on weakly to his shirt. The younger man's tears continued on for many minutes, and Sakaki just kept murmuring praises and affection. What a good boy he was. How brave he'd been while rescuing Shirayuki as well as during his spanking. How proud Sakaki was of the person Raj was building himself in to. At first, the praise only triggered harder sobbing, but over time, he grew to adore and crave those words. Eventually the harsh sobbing dissolved in to softer crying, the occasional sniffle popping up here and there.

"Sakaki?" Raj finally asked quietly.

The advisor pet the younger man's hair back, murmuring, "mm?"

Raj closed his eyes, chewing on his lip a bit and asking, "you... y-you really didn't think I was slipping? You're not just... t-trying to make me feel better, right? You... y-you wouldn't do that..."

Sakaki smiled softly, ruffling his hair, "I promise you, had I thought you were slipping, I would have spanked you the moment we returned to Tanbarun." That was actually somewhat of a comfort to the prince, and Sakaki knew that, as well. "You know, this type of attention is yours whenever you need it," the older man said, wanting to make sure he understood, "not only when you're 'in trouble'."

Raj's tears had gradually begun to slow, sniffling now and then. He slowly looked up at Sakaki, asking quietly, "you're... you're sure?"

"Absolutely, kiddo," Sakaki promised, "if this is something you need then I'm willing to provide, no matter the reason - even if that reason is simply that you're stressed."

Raj buried his face back in to Sakaki's shoulder, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, body melting in relief. He'd been feeling like there was something seriously wrong with him for needing this, and to have Sakaki be so accepting of it seriously helped that anxiety. He closed his eyes, sniffling a bit and saying quietly, "I'm so tired..."

Sakaki smiled softly when he felt Raj relax. He pulled out his handkerchief, gently cleaning the younger man's face and neck of his tears. "We'll get you cleaned up and get you in to bed, kiddo," he murmured, keeping his voice soft. Raj nodded weakly, pulling his face out of Sakaki's shoulder and allowing him to clean it. "Good boy," Sakaki praised, saying gently as he wiped at the tears, "now, I think it's wonderful that you've taken to studying, Raj... but I won't have you running yourself in to the ground like this every time you feel guilty. From now on, I want you to come to me when you're feeling that way, instead, and we'll work on it together. Understood, little boy?" He kept his voice soft, not stern - this was the aftercare, he wanted Raj to be as calm as possible.

Raj whined just a little, he'd never been very good at communicating his feelings. Still, though, talking to Sakaki sounded like a far better option than staying up until all hours of the night studying economics, geography, and God knows what else. He finally nodded, saying quietly, "yes, sir."

Sakaki smiled softly, murmuring, "good boy," before folding the handkerchief up and holding it to his nose, pressing on one side to make it easier. Raj didn't hesitate this time, taking a deep breath and blowing. Sakaki folded the handkerchief up again and held the other side, instructing, "once more, now." The prince nodded, taking an even deeper breath and blowing harder, relief blanketing his face when he felt his sinuses clear out. "Very good," Sakaki commended, and Raj tried not to smile. "Do you feel like you can stand up long enough for me to pull the covers back?" he asked. The younger man nodded, exhausted, but no longer feeling like he couldn't move.

The advisor nodded in return, slowly peeling himself away from Raj and getting to his feet. He held his hand out, and the prince took it, holding the cloak over his front as he stood. He sort of wobbled back and forth as he stood for a moment, before gaining his footing. He was too exhausted to care too much about the fact that his backside was still bare. Besides, it really stung, so he wasn't sure if he _wanted_ any clothing there. Sakaki pulled the covers back, ushering Raj to lay down, which he promptly did. He laid down on his back at first before wincing a bit and rolling on to his side. Sakaki smiled sympathetically, laying the covers over the prince before going over to the table and pouring him some water. He brought it over to him, coaxing gently, "I want you to drink at least some of this, kiddo."

Raj looked over his shoulder at the water, whining a bit but sitting up, wincing as he did. That hairbrush had seriously stung more than Sakaki's hand, and before tonight he hadn't thought anything _could_ sting more than Sakaki's hand! He had a feeling he'd still be feeling this a bit when he woke up the next morning, and oddly, that actually didn't bother him. It was like a small reminder - Sakaki cared about him a hell of a lot, and he wasn't going anywhere. Raj took the water without fighting him, this time, chugging around half of a glass before setting it on his nightstand - he might want more later. "Good boy," Sakaki praised, smiling as he saw Raj attempting to digest that praise while in a calmer state of mind. He went around to the other side of the bed, peeling the covers back and laying down next to the prince. Raj promptly laid back down, latching back on to his advisor and closing his eyes. Sakaki pulled the younger man in closer, letting him rest his head on his chest. He leaned his head down and kissed the top of the prince's head softly, feeling how Raj melted in his arms. He held him securely with one arm, reaching down with his other hand, moving his hand under the cloak and carefully rubbing his sore backside. Raj took a deep breath, letting it out contentedly and hanging on to his shirt loosely. "You did great, kiddo, now..." Sakaki whispered, petting his hair back, "it's time to get some sleep." Raj nodded drowsily, nuzzling closer and stretching a bit before allowing himself to completely relax.

It didn't take long at all for the younger man to fall asleep. The spanking and the emotions had seriously tired him out, and Sakaki's gentle words and rubbing definitely made him even sleepier. Sakaki stayed right there for at least a half hour after he fell asleep, wanting to make sure that the boy was good and out before he left. Eventually, Sakaki slowly and carefully maneuvered himself from underneath the prince, sliding out of bed. He gently moved Raj's head back on to a pillow and made sure he was completely covered up under his chin. He pet his hair back a few more times, before reaching down and grabbing his sword, attaching it to his belt again. He slipped his boots on, leaning down to tie them.

Once he was done he looked down at the bed, realizing his cloak was still on the sleeping prince. He'd get his cloak from him tomorrow, he wasn't going to wake the poor kid for it. He had more cloaks anyway. As he headed for the door he couldn't help but think about how much his cloak had helped to calm Raj down. In around a week's time, Sakaki would be making a trip with Mihaya to Clarines to visit Shirayuki and present her with her official title of "Friend of the Crown." With their new relationship, Sakaki actually worried a bit about leaving Raj for such a long time - it wasn't exactly a short trek... it would be weeks before he would return to Tanbarun. Maybe he should leave one of his cloaks behind in Raj's armoire, in case the prince has a bad day or one of his nightmares. Yes, that's what he would do. He'd leave his lighter cloak behind and take his darker grey one with him to Clarines. He really hoped that it wasn't creepy, the way he found himself thinking about the First Prince of Tanbarun. He couldn't help but worry about Raj, though. It would always be his job to worry... not as his advisor, but as his friend and mentor.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Thanks for reading, guys! I'm pretty sure there won't be another chapter, but I won't update it as 'completed' until I'm sure.

Johnna


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